Underground Railroad
by BuggyFiction
Summary: What happens when you find out you've been lied to your entire life about your entire existence? You run away from your fiancé with the food truck guy! Bella meets new werewolves, vampires, and hybrids on this new adventure of her life. Oh yeah, and she has a brother.
1. Chapter 1

She didn't have to do anything for the wedding, only to give her approval, because her soon to be sister in laws were arranging everything. Bella and Edward were going to be married in the forest, the Cullen's backyard, actually. Everything very natural and virgin - Alice explained that it was sort of a fusion of two lives, or whatever. The drawings had been beautiful, and it was something Bella could see herself being wed at.

Alice had already found Bella the perfect dress. For some weird reason, Alice always knew what Bella wanted without Bella even telling her because it had already been made clear that Alice couldn't fully _see_ Bella. It was just that Alice was that good with fashion.

Rosalie had already sent out the wedding invitations, without Bella's assistance or requests.

Carlisle and Esme had an island that Bella and Edward were going to on their honeymoon, there was no need to figure out a location for that. But she really didn't fancy traveling for such a long time. However, Edward wanted this. And what Edward wanted, Edward got. She'd get him backpacking through Europe within a year, that was one of her resolutions.

The wedding cake was done by some master cake builder from Las Vegas or New York, or perhaps two cakes because they were expecting a few guests, but why buy two cakes when they'll mostly be for show? Vampires didn't eat human food.

Bella felt as if she _had_ to do something for her own wedding instead of simply sitting around and having things happen. When Alice announced that she'd already hired a chef to cater for the wedding, something inside Bella snapped. "You guys don't eat! How do you know the food is good? And what kind of food will this chef make? Cancel this chef and let's hold auditions for food!"

At first, the Cullens had ignored her. All of them, even Edward. Jacob, of course, told her that she was well in her right to demand that she'd take care of the food for the obvious reasons. Jasper was the first one to buckle, mainly because Bella hung around with him more often, not really cursing, but he could sense that her desire for space from the family. Her wall of annoyance only grew bigger and he had enough of it. "I'll talk to them," he said gently as he looked over at her. "Because you are right. Do you want me to help you or-"

"No," she was grateful though. "I'm going to place an ad in the paper and on the internet and we'll see who'll show up for the open audition and-"

Jasper smiled then, putting an arm around Bella as he lead her away from the house, hopefully out of earshot from the rest of his family. "Darlin', my brother and sister are coming. You know about Peter and his gift, right?"

Bella furrowed her brow for a moment. "He's the one who knows things."

"Very annoying, really, makes him an assho- asshat sometimes, but yes, he knows things. Let's just say that he wants to help you with your food issues."

She blinked at him. "But what's the point of doing things myself then, when another Cold One, who doesn't eat, takes care of my food problem?"

Jasper smirked, winking at her before glancing around. "Cryptic bastard may know more than he's saying but he wanted in and he can keep Alice and Edward from bothering you too much. Let's leave it at that, deal?"

"So no putting out ads?"

"Well… you could," he smiled at her. "As a test to Peter's abilities, perhaps… that would get his panties in a twist. But I never had any reason to doubt his abilities. He actually knew you were going to throw your little temper tantrum at the whole arranged chef thing."

She blew out a breath through her nose, scowling. "What does he have planned then? What does he want me to do? Alice will figure something is up."

Jasper shrugged. "It's fun to see my wife all worked up, don't worry about it."

"You might think it's fun but it's a fucking pain in my ass. I want to take her stilettos and shove them up where the sun doesn't fucking sparkle!"

"Bella," Jasper shook his head.

"I'm not a Cullen yet so don't make me curb my mouth," she snapped. "I'm hanging by a thread here."

He barked out a laugh. "You're worse than Rose when she got married to Emmett, you little bridezilla you," he said teasingly. "You can stay at your dad's for a few days if you want to take a breather."

"No. I can't be worse than her because I'm sure she was allowed to make her own damned decisions for her own fucking weddings. I didn't even get a say in the honeymoon. My dress was chosen for me before I even got to see it. Whose wedding is this again? Not mine."

"Darlin', I know," Jasper said as he stopped walking and gently placed his hands on her shoulders as he looked at her. "Trust Peter. Trust that it will work out."

"Trust someone who I wasn't even allowed to meet whenever he was in town," she snarled, thinking about Edward, then sighing and running a hand through her hair in remorse.

"And why do you think you weren't allowed to meet with him? Edward's afraid to lose you. He _loves_ you and he perceives someone like Peter a threat."

She rolled her eyes. "Surrounded by the family, like that will happen. Besides, he's mated already. Sometimes I just want to slap some brains into him."

"What's stopping you?"

She gave him a look that indicated his own moronic thought.

"Right. Human Bella. Vampire Edward," Jasper said sheepishly before grinning. "Let's go back to get you some food."

"Yes, let's feed the human like the pet she is after the whole drama over wedding food she's been causing," Bella muttered as she turned away from him, walking away. "It's no wonder Laurent said what he did when he found me that day. Sometimes I wondered…"

"It's easy to be considered someone's pet when you're the weaker of the two," Jasper said as he pushed his hands in his pockets and strolled after her. "I mean, I'm definitely Alice's pet. She's got me wound around her little finger and can make me do things," he added.

She was silent as what he referred to in regards to his relationship had no bearing on hers. Blinking, she tried not to think about the conversations Edward continuously avoided about her mandatory turning. She knew he was still extremely resistant and wondered if he would refuse to until the end, thus continuing putting her life in danger. Was she really a pet? No, he loved her, right?

"Where were you?" Edward said as he came out of the house, a worried look on his face as he pulled her into his arms. "I thought something had happened. The thought of losing you…"

Bella frowned, blinking as she as she took in a breath. "Jasper went and kept me from playing runaway bride. No worries here," she smiled up at him.

"Don't be silly," he smiled sweetly at her. "Why would you run? Simply because of the food?"

"Oh I still want control over something and I claim that, since I've had little say in anything else. I won't budge here Edward. I need something to do," she sighed.

"What about that cook from that diner your dad always goes to for dinner?" Edward suggested. "You like her food, don't you?"

She pulled away and started to grow angry at the suggestion. "Diner food, really? That only proves you have little respect for those of us that actually need to eat, Edward. Please. It's the one thing I'm asking here since you chose a honeymoon I don't care for, Alice chose a dress I never saw, and…"

"How can I turn down a honeymoon offered by Carlisle and Esme?" Edward said gently. "But I know you're upset and we've all agreed that you can be in charge of the human food. Whatever you need, we'll help you. Do you want us to put an ad on the internet or the paper?"

"And while I'm grateful, a tropical island for a human as pale as I am is asking for disaster," she deadpanned. "I will handle any ads, interviews, or anything else involved with food. I don't want you or the family's help with that."

"Let it go," Jasper said to Edward as he passed him to go inside. The whole family was annoyed by Bella's stubbornness, but she was right about the food. Rosalie was supportive of Bella as well, though. But Carlisle, Esme and Alice would never hear this. Alice wanted things to be perfect and Bella throwing a fit about food wasn't perfection. "I'm going to take Alice out to hunt for a couple of days, get her out of your hair, Bella."

"You don't have-"

"I do. And I can. And I will," he smiled before going to look for his wife.

Bella sighed as she put her hands around Edward's cold body. "You forgive me, right? You're not mad at me?"

"I don't understand why you just won't let anyone else take care of things for our wedding day, but no, I'm not mad at you," he smiled at her, kissing the top of her head. "Come, I made you some grilled cheese sandwiches."

"I'm not a child, Edward."

"It's the best I can do, you know that."

Bella huffed as she let go of him and went inside the house to grab her coat and the keys to her truck. "I'm going to my dad's for real food. Alone," she said as she bumped into her boyfriend on the way out again. "I'll be back in a few hours. I just-"

"Need some human time," Edward said understandingly and Bella simply left. She couldn't help but get angry while Edward and his family were only trying to be helpful and kind. Not anymore. She'd always had a slight temper, but it only seemed to get worse the closer it came to her wedding day. Luckily, her father somewhat understood and left her alone while she was making herself some food as she tried to calm down by ranting about her wedding to him. Her slamming the pots and pans around in the kitchen, led to her fist in the wall had been something else entirely.

Eventually, though, Charlie spoke up as he was cleaning his gun. "Have you taken your medication at all, lately?" He asked as a matter of factly, not looking up from his task.

"I might have missed a few days here and there, so what?" Bella shot at him before looking at the hole in the wall. "Uh… might have to ask Jake to come and fix this, dad."

"Nonsense," Charlie replied, shaking his head. "I can fix it, but maybe you should take your medicine before you go back to your fiancé. Wouldn't want you to accidentally give him a black eye for the wedding day, would you?"

Bella pulled open a cabinet where a small jar of her pills were being kept in case of sleepovers, took one and swallowed it whole. "There. Happy? And for your information, my hand is doing fine."

"Good," Charlie nodded as he put his gun back together and looked at his daughter. "Bells, it's important for you to take those meds."

"I know, I know," she sighed as she cleaned up the mess she'd made. "It helps with the anger and shit, but dad, do they really work though? I have the feeling that even when I take them lately that they're not working the way that they used to."

Charlie shrugged as he got to his feet and went to get some plaster to start fixing the hole in the kitchen wall. "Could be that you need a stronger dose, or, it could be that something else is at play. You're not pregnant, are you?"

"Dad!"

"Just saying!" He laughed as he came back with the required materials. "Sweetheart, it's alright to be a little grumpy, or anxious or forgetful when it comes to your wedding. Every bride, and yes, even grooms, experience that sort of feeling. It needs to be perfect. Your special day." He cleared out the debris from the wall before he started to fill it up with the plaster. "Hell, your mom and I fought all the time when we planned our wedding. She hated it that I didn't care about the location, the food, the clothes or anything. I just wanted your mother to be mine."

"Yeah, and look how well that turned out," Bella huffed, before realizing something. "Do you think that Edward and I will last?"

"Every father wants his daughter's marriage to last, Bella, but marriage is hard work. And unfortunately, I dropped the ball far too often in the time that I was married to your mother."

"Well, on top of that, she's really not wife material," Bella added, never having been bitter about her parents' divorce. She got to live with Charlie, which was fantastic, although she had wished her father had been a sheriff in a town a bit further south, where it was warm instead of cold all year round.

When she was younger, Bella often went to her mother's for a week or two for a vacation once or twice a year. Sometimes her mother made the trip to Forks, but like Bella, she preferred the warmer climates. "Can I stay here for the night? I'll text Edward that I'm staying here, but I really don't want to go back right now. I'm tired. I'm angry. I'm… everything."

"This is your home, Bella, it'll always be your home even when you're married," he smiled at her. "Your room is your room, I'll never change that."

Bella hugged her father, kissed him on the cheek and headed upstairs. "You're the best dad ever."

~o.O.o~

Bella slept for what seemed the entire day, sure that she'd been left alone - she had asked Charlie to put locks on her window last year and it was still locked. She felt refreshed, relaxed and happier than she had felt previously. She did want to go back to Edward as soon as she could though, there was no doubt that he wouldn't have liked her staying at her dad's. It was highly probable that he'd been standing across the street all night to watch the house.

At first, she'd been annoyed by it. Edward had shown the classic signs of a stalker, signs that her daddy had taught her well, but the more she got to know Edward, the more she understood that he only did those things because he cared about her. That he _loved_ her, and she loved him. Edward only wished to protect her. But she was safe at her dad's. He was a cop, and Bella could take care of herself too.

She took a long, relaxing shower with one of her dad's bottles of soap. He had always told her that under no circumstance she should ever use that soap because it's expensive and Charlie liked to savor the smell for as long as he could. It smelled earthy. Mossy. Like sunshine after rain. She was a rebel. Of course she used the soap as much as she could, without hopefully getting caught.

She got into some comfy clothes that were still in her closet and went downstairs to prepare breakfast, or lunch, depending on the time, but stopped short when she saw an unfamiliar face sitting in the kitchen, her dad happily munching on some bagels and drinking Starbucks coffee. "Good morning?"

"Oh, hi Bells!" Charlie greeted her happily. "Peter here said you two had an appointment today? I couldn't leave him out in the cold so I invited him in."

Bella didn't move an inch as she looked at this _Peter_. He was definitely a cold one. He was dressed as a punk cowboy - Bella wasn't sure how to describe his fashion anyway, and was quietly observing her until she'd speak. "You're Jasper's Peter."

"I sure am, though technically I belong to Char if anyone has anything to say 'bout that," Peter nodded. "Good morning, Miss Bella, care for some breakfast? We have a big day ahead of us if we want to annoy some squirrel munchers."

She narrowed her eyes at him before sitting down at the table. "What were your plans?" It was convenient for Peter to show up now, with Alice out of town on a hunt. She had to admit, the thrill of doing something to annoy the Cullens sounded good, still. Even now.

"You'll see," he smirked as he handed her a bagel and a styrofoam cup of coffee, it was still hot. "Eat up, it's the good stuff, or so I've been told."

"What are you two going to do?" Charlie asked his daughter as she took a bite of her bagel. "Nothing illegal, I hope?"

Peter gave him what was supposed to seem like an innocent smile. "What I do best, Chief. Piss off my brother's family and I take my job extremely seriously too. Do you have any requests?"

"Don't piss them off too much and keep my girl safe," he muttered as he got his gun from underneath the table and placed it next to him on the table.

"She will be perfectly safe with me, I guarantee that. In fact they won't get between me and her," he assured, turning his gaze from the man to the girl in question as he emphasized on his promise. "She'll be able to do what she wants to her heart's content without any troubles."

"Edward would never hurt me," Bella huffed before shaking her head. "You're talking big. There's no way that they'll allow _that_."

Peter's eyebrow rose and leaned back against the counter as he eyed her. "Huh. So how's that headache of yours. Nice hole in the wall. Redecorating?"

"I'm feeling much better than I've done previously," Bella deadpanned, not sure how Peter knew about the headaches, or the fact that the hole was created by her. "But Edward wouldn't do anything to hurt me, so I'm safe. All I wanted was to have a say in the food we're going to serve at the fucking wedding."

"And with me as your personal buffer, you have the catering situation all to yourself. You just tell me what you want, and I'll handle it. I'm _your_ servant."

"No, that's not doing things myself," she grumbled.

He let out a stubborn huff. "Good thing I've come prepared then. I've organised you your own personal food truck festival in the in law's backyard. You should have seen their faces this morning when they rolled up. Brilliant."

"Food trucks?"

"Sweet cheeks, a lot of good food, a lot of caterers, have food trucks to make ends meet. Don't knock it until you've tried it and I promise you, there's one chef there you'll definitely want to have as your caterer. I'm not saying who, but I wrote it down on this little piece of paper," he said as he pulled the paper out of his pocket and waved it around. "There's a name on this. I'm going to give it to your dad so I can't mess with it. As soon as you've made your decision of who's going to be your caterer, you can call your dad and he can tell you the name on that paper. How's that?"

"The fuck?"

"You don't trust me and my abilities. This is merely a game I'd like to play so that you can see that I'm always right," he grinned as he pointed at the bagel. "Eat up. We can take that coffee with us."


	2. Chapter 2

A food truck festival. For her. She hadn't believed him when he had told her, but there were about fifteen trucks, all making their food and the smells were absolutely delicious. Peter nudged her towards the trucks and smirked. "Have fun, I'll keep the Cullens in their house or at least on their patio so they won't bother you. Just ignore them. Your wedding. Your food choice."

"You sure?"

"All yours, enjoy yourself," Peter winked at her before heading to his brother's family. He loved to annoy them, especially with things like these. While they couldn't eat or taste human food anymore, the smells were still enticing and some of these trucks had some spicy food that really tickled your senses. Which was the entire reason for Peter to invite them over, of course. He already knew who Bella was going to pick. The others were just for shits and giggles.

"Dude, this is awesome!" Emmett grinned as he slapped Peter on the back. "All we need now is some country music!"

Edward scowled as he glared at his brother before turning his gaze over to his fiance. "I highly doubt this was Isabella's decision or idea and it is in poor taste."

"Exactly," Peter grinned. "You didn't want her to invite chefs over for tastings, so chefs have just shown up instead. Isn't it great? These are legitimate caterers, by the way," he said as he handed over the paperwork with certificates and some even with their rap sheets and mugshots attached to them for laughs. "I did my research."

The mind reader scowled as he took the papers but refused to look into the folders. He just returned to watching Bella as she stood questioning the woman at one truck in between trying her samples. "This could have been done in a much less obtuse spectacle. Why are you even here? I'm going to put an end to this now."

"Oh, Eddie," Peter rolled his eyes at him. "Look at her cute little face. She's loving this. She's actively engaging the people and is connecting with them. Do you really wish to _upset_ your fiancé, _again_? She might have to spend another night at her father's if you keep this up."

Emmett nodded as he decided to move to stand right in front of his brother. "Let Bella enjoy this, trust that she'll make the right decision. A happy bride is a happy wife, dude."

"I don't even want to begin to imagine all the germs in those trucks," Carlisle shook his head disapprovingly and headed back inside. "I'll check to see if we still have antibiotics and tetanus shots in the house for Bella when she needs it."

Peter narrowed his eyes on Edward as he called out to Carlisle. "Why would you bother needing those Doc? After all she's supposed to be turned on that island of yours, right?"

Bella was glad that Peter kept the Cullens busy. Of course, she couldn't help but feel them all stare at her, especially her Edward, but this was the best thing _ever_. All that she missed was some good music, loud music, but some trucks had some soft music playing. She made sure to spend at least fifteen minutes with every chef, this way she could digest some of the food and rinse her mouth when it was not what she wanted or far too spicy.

She hadn't found anything spectacular yet though, and her hopes for finding someone dashed when she rejected the penultimate truck's cook, too. "You look like your heart's been crushed," a voice sounded from the last food truck. His head popped out, a big smile on his face, reminding her somewhat of a puppy, but with a bite.

This person had a well chiseled face, a slight stubble and his eyes were beautifully blue. If it weren't for Edward, Bella might have fallen for this guy if he'd been around years ago. _Stop it, Bella. You're engaged. You're looking for a cook._ "It might be if you can't deliver…" she muttered as she looked at the floor. Taking a deep breath, she composed herself and extended her hand to him. "Bella Swan."

"Isaac Argent," he smiled at her and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Miss Swan. Why won't you come into my truck? I have quite the few things here that you might enjoy."

"In your truck?" she chuckled, shaking her head. "None of the others invited me in."

"Ah, well, that's because they don't want you to see the inside of their trucks. I pride myself in the fact that my truck is squeaky clean," he disappeared for a moment before a door opened and he hopped out of the truck. Isaac was slightly taller than Edward. Well dressed, although there were slight smudges of food on his clothes. He turned around to pull out some stairs and pointed inside the truck. "Don't worry, I'm not a serial killer. Besides, who would be stupid enough to kidnap someone who's being watched by their entire family?"

She blushed then. "They're overprotective, that's all," she replied before carefully stepping inside the truck. It was indeed very clean inside. Lived in, used, but clean. The food that he had on the counter were bite sized, exactly what she had envisioned for her wedding and they were looking absolutely great. Precise. Isaac had even made a mini lasagna. "Wow."

"Weddings are all about the fingerfood, aren't they? People like to snack, not to eat huge things because they're too busy talking amongst themselves. Gossipping about the bride," he winked at her as he leaned against the counter. "And yes, pigs in blankets and sausage rolls might be tacky and outdated, but trust me, people like them still."

"I'm almost afraid to eat them," Bella smiled before she heard some growling coming from the direction of the house and she realised that Edward couldn't see her anymore. Looking over at Isaac, she wondered if he had heard it too, and hated it that he was looking into the direction of the house. Well shit. He didn't look frightened though, there was a playful smile on his face. "Okay, what the fuck is going on?"

"You're getting married, and you need a caterer and you're trying out food? Is your memory that bad? Are you even mentally capable of giving your consent to marry someone?" It came out as a joke, but Isaac wasn't joking as he grabbed a can of coke, opened it and handed it to her.

She looked confused. "What kind of question is that?" she breathed out, blinking for a moment. "What are you?" she whispered as she looked up at him.

"Oh, don't worry, they can't hear you inside this truck," he smiled at her as he gently caressed the counter of his truck. "I asked a witch to cast a lasting privacy spell on this baby because of my line of work. Can't have people overhear my recipes now, can we?"

Bella still felt like she had a cloud trying to lift from her so her brain was confused as she listened, processing what he was saying and with what she knew. Or thought she knew.

"So," he said as he brushed his hand against her exposed arm as he took the first little bite-sized snack. "Try this."

She blinked as she wordlessly took the food and swallowed, but wasn't sure how she felt. "What's wrong with me? What are you?" she asked again, looking at him. "Peter…?"

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with you," Isaac assured her as he leaned back against the counter after briefly touching her again. "Well… actually… that's debatable. You're hanging around with Cold Ones and I heard you were warned by them about their nature, and yet, you didn't run for the hills, why is that?"

"I'm in love with one," she muttered, confused. "We're getting married?" Bella looked around, frowning as she took in the view from the truck. "Why am I getting married? I'm only eighteen!"

"A bit young, huh?" he agreed as he grabbed a can of coke for himself and took a sip. "Didn't your fiancé warn you about his kind of vampires? That they're physically beautiful - which is debatable, by the way - and have a special kind of pheromone to lure in their prey - you?"

She turned back at him with a glare. "There's more than one kind?"

"There's also the warm cuddly kind who can walk in the sun without looking like a disco ball," Isaac nodded. "These guys are a joke, really. We like to call them marble statues."

Bella turned to stare out the window again, silent as she internally fumed at more supernatural information that seems to had been kept from her. "I won't ask again. What are _you_ , because you clearly are doing _something_ to me because this is most it seems I've been able to think for myself around this house."

Isaac ran a hand through his hair as he looked at her, slightly anxious, but Peter had already told him that this would happen and it would be best to be straight with the girl. "Just like there are two kinds of vampires, there are two or three kinds of werewolves. You already know the pony sized ones, they're actually shapeshifters, created by magic. Each pack decides what animal they like to see themselves as, wolves, cats, horses, hell, encountered a flock of fucking birds once who turned back into humans. Then there's the kind of werewolf that doesn't change much when they go into wolf-mode, and then there's me. The kind of werewolf who can be hairy, scary, has fangs and yellow eyes but is able to take pain away from others. And in your case, I'm... brushing away the Cullen's interference and, in essence, returning you to your own mind."

She snorted as she glanced at him. "So a drugless, supernatural antibiotic?"

He laughed. "I have been called worse," he snickered. "But yes. I suppose. Apart from being a werewolf, I'm also a hunter who helps other supernatural beings who are in trouble. You see, hunters have been around for centuries. They hunt everything that goes bump in the night, and recently some had changed their way, seeing that not everything supernatural is bad. Four years ago, however, things changed and now, more than ever, supernaturals are being hunted and killed."

Bella frowned, sympathetic to what he was sharing. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand what that has to do with me or how I can help you."

"I'm here to help you to make the right decision for yourself."

"Right decision? By not marrying Edward? If he's really been using his vampire abilities on me and not letting our relationship progress as naturally as one should then of course not, but still… Thanks for clearing my head, but as soon as I'm back in arms reach, I'm in his trap again, aren't I? Do you or Peter have a plan to stop that?" she questioned, skeptical of this charade.

"Are you really sure that that's the decision you have to make?" Isaac asked as he popped a snack into his mouth and ate it, watching her face.

"The fuck are you talking about?" she snapped. "You're beginning to sound as cryptic as Jasper's asshole friend!"

"No, I'm not."

"Yeah, you are because I'm tired, I'm bitchy because this has been a long day, and no one ever wants to give me a straight fucking answer!"

"Okay, you know what? Fine. The reason I'm asking is because sometimes there are other decisions to be made or reasons for Cold Ones to control their pets. If you truly feel that you've been played and manipulated, then yes, to marry or not to marry is a decision you have to make on your own. You don't have to do it now, you can think about it while your head is clear and Peter has an idea on how we can achieve that, too."

Bella sneered as she headed for the door. "I'm just sure he does. I'm sure he has it all planned out already."

"You can tell them that you want to see me work during a real food truck festival, to test my skills in the field. That'd mean you'd be gone from them for about a week, giving you plenty of time to detox from their influence and to get your head straightened out."

"That means going to Seattle," she pouted as she thought about the drive.

"No, that means leaving this truck in Seattle and grabbing the one that I have in Texas after we take a plane there," he replied to her with a shrug. "I won't win any barbeque prizes because hell, I'm a chef, not a farmer, but people do tend to like my food."

She turned back to look at him before stepping through the threshold. "You're implying running away."

"Oh no, I'll return you after we're done. Or we'll go back together if you want a clean break from them after the week of fun and sun. If you decide not to go through with the wedding after all, I can take you somewhere safe, or you can stick around and help me to help others." Oh, Isaac was sure he was fucking this up. He wasn't the hero or cut out for long speeches. Stupid Peter. This girl was definitely in trouble, and he wasn't sure if he had gotten through to her.

A thoughtful look crossed her face as she eyed him and said nothing as she stepped out and walked back towards the house with a smile. She could see that Edward was clearly not a happy camper and shook her head with a sigh. "What is your problem now, Edward?"

"He's a werewolf, isn't he?"

"Right. As much as I am one, sure," she scoffed as she looked at him like he ate a cheeseburger. "You are seriously a paranoid asshole lately and until you get over it, I'm going to take some time away from you and the area. I think I might go visit my mom or something but I've about had enough of all of this for now. And Peter? You're a dick," she added as she walked towards the driveway. "You also need to deal with my dad since he wanted you over for dinner. I don't know what you did but he likes you, so you have to eat human food tonight."

"And may I remind you to call your father to ask him what's on that paper?" Peter said playfully as he looked over to Isaac, who looked as if he was lost, had lost.

"I'm sure I'll find out at dinner," she sighed. "Besides I have to call mom to let her know I'm coming down."

"See you later then," Peter grinned as he watched Bella walk down the driveway, it was a long walk back in town, and she was going to get hit by another surprise. He signalled to Isaac that it was time to leave before turning around to Edward and the remaining Cullens. "Respect Bella's wishes, she's clear headed _now_. I'm sure that she'll come back when she decides that she has nothing to fear."

Edward punched Peter, hard. "Who do you think you are for messing with my life? Bella is mine. She loves me. Of course she'll come back to me! I can offer her the world and then some."

Peter rubbed his jaw, chuckling. "Was it really her own emotions or your lure? _If_ she comes back, then everyone will know the truth. I'd be more worried about what she'll do to you when she figures it all out herself. Don't go near her, leave her alone. Give her time and for fuck's sake, don't even think about messing with her friends and family because I will gladly put you down."

Rose moved closer, her arms crossed as she eyed the boys arguing. "What are you meaning about using a lure on her?"

"Rose, honey, us Cold Ones look pretty, we have a smooth voice, and we excrete some sort of pheromone that is addictive to humans - and to vampires to an extent. Fortunately I never learned how to use it, but oh, is Eddie boy abusing it!" Peter smirked as he looked at Edward, who looked like he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Rose was going to be pissed.

She turned to her brother, appalled. "No wonder Bella was constantly teetering between infatuation and being perpetually pissed off around you. It was like she couldn't decide how to feel. You would immediately be on her when she was angry with you and she'd flip like a switch! That's just …" she couldn't even come out with the words that she wanted to say it felt like to her as a shudder ran through her. "Don't you dare come anywhere near me, Edward. I wouldn't expect Bella to come back either if she figures it out."

"Peter, you've outstayed your welcome," Carlisle came out of the house, speaking quietly as he pulled Rose into his arms, she was upset and Peter was the reason for it.

"What for? Speaking truths?" he asked. "Nah, I'm staying in town until Bella leaves and Jasper gets back. Just to make sure Fucktard there stays away from her. And - I'm not so sure Rose, that you should be that close to Daddy. He's well aware of what lures can do too. Just never said anything to you lot. Poor vampire education round this place."

Emmett growled as he pulled Rose out of Carlisle's arms and pulled her along to the garage, got into a car and sped off, creating as much distance between them and Carlisle and Edward as possible in a short period of time.

Kicking back on the pristine white couch, he threw his feet up on the coffee table and crossed his arms behind his head. "60 years. Damn, been waiting to break out those truths."

"Get out," Edward said venomously. "Go annoy someone else!"

"Make me," the former warrior challenged, narrowing his eyes, a smile on his lips in invitation.

"Edward, don't," Carlisle grabbed his son's arm. "We'll ask the Volturi for help, leave him be."

"Oh, yes! Please do!" Peter rubbed his hands together in glee. "Yes. Yes. Yes. Please, pretty please with a cherry on top! Let's call them right now!"


	3. Chapter 3

"Isn't it nice, Isaac cooking for us?" Peter smiled as he walked passed Charlie after being let inside. He sat down at the kitchen table and made himself at home as Bella just stared at him.

"You're an asshole. In case I haven't mentioned it before or forget to in the future," Bella said. "You really had to go through all that just to put me in contact with a wolf? Why not just arrange a meeting on the reservation or something?"

"Admit it, this was way more fun," Peter grinned. "And forget about the fact that he's a wolf for a second here. He's lonely, I figured he needed a friend who can join him on his heroic efforts."

"Hey now," Isaac warned him from the kitchen. "You're not going to pull that shit on me, I'm fine on my own!"

"You needed saving from Edfart, and Isaac needs someone who has his back. You two are a match made in heaven… or hell… I guess. Depending on the moon and such," he shrugged, ignoring the werewolf. "Besides, I could have tried enlisting your so-called human friends, but brittle humans vs Cold Ones… I figured you didn't want that."

She blinked and shook her head, having a hard time understanding the vampire. She wondered how Jasper tolerated him for so long and not killed him after turning him. "See, shit like that, those references, don't make sense sometimes. But, now that I'm taking off from here, what's the plan? And how did it go after I left the house? I can't imagine Edward taking it well."

"Oh, he punched me. Then sweet Rose started asking questions about the whole lure thing and of course, I had to tell her. Poor Carlisle likes to keep his children in the dark," he said sadly. "She got upset with Edward, dove into Carlisle's arms and then I had to tell her that Carlisle was just like her brother. Emmett then took Rosalie away, they were last seen speeding away from the house in their Ferrari."

Bella couldn't help but be unsettled, knowing Rose's history as well. "Are they okay? I mean, she wasn't all that welcoming to me, but I didn't hold it against her."

"They are okay, I can see them being quite happy in a different country together," Peter assured her. "Emmett's extremely pissed off, though. If Carlisle or Edward would ever find them, there's no chance that he'll keep them in one piece. Oh! Which…" Peter started to laugh. "Oh, this is hilarious, Bella, Carlisle wanted to call the Volturi, on me!"

She sat there quiet, thinking about them until his exclamation, startling her. Looking up at him, she raised a brow. "They are the last beings I want to see next to the Cullens. I still have to be turned according to their orders," she murmured, glancing at her father who appeared to be doing his best to ignore them.

"Oh, you have nothing to worry about," he hiccuped, carrying on. "I made Carlisle call Aro on speaker phone and have him complain about me and how I was interfering with the Coven and stuff. Aro said that I was providing a service to the Volturi by this interference; it would make it more difficult for the hunters to get to the Cullens if they were all separated and thus remaining a secretive society. They exonerated me and Char for our misdeeds and rewarded us with our freedom as long as we help keep the secret. You, are released from your obligations as well."

"How? Because I want to help? That doesn't make sense. I still know the secret," she pointed out, her face pinched.

"Because you know the secret, you'll be able to help those who know the secret. They'd rather have you do that than have you fulfill your obligations. And, of course, there are other things at play but they wouldn't tell me what they were." Peter knew, oh, he knew, he had to tell the Volturi, but if he admitted that he knew, he'd have to tell, and she wasn't ready for that.

"I know you're leaving things out. I don't know if it's intention or not, but if I find out that you ever lie to me…"

"Sweetheart, I'd never lie to you," Peter said, sighing. "But I am intentionally leaving things out because some things need to be discovered on your own. By yourself. On your own journey and time. Life isn't easy and having my gift isn't easy. Just know that if you were in danger or anything I would have told you," he said as he carefully looked at Charlie who was now looking directly at Peter.

Isaac froze in his cooking as he looked over at the group at the table cautiously. She stared at Peter before looking over at her father, narrowing her eyes again. "You're way too chill about all this talk."

Charlie sighed as he took a swig of his beer. "I know more about the supernatural community than I wish to know. I know that Billy's folk are shapeshifters and that there are werewolves and vampires. By pretending not to listen, I can always pretend to play dumb. That's how I survive."

"Besides," Peter grinned. "Your dad fucked a werewolf once."

Bella's face twisted in disgust as she backed away from the table and walked out of the room. "Way too much fucking information Peter. When we want you to say shit you don't, and the shit we don't want to hear you fucking spill. God no!"

"Hey, it wasn't a furry like the Quileute wolves," Peter laughed. "So there's that!"

"Really Peter?" Charlie questioned.

"Seriously?" Isaac echoed. "Was it like one of my kind or the other?" he asked curious. "It's been awhile since I ran into one of my kind."

"It was a long time ago, kid," Charlie muttered into his beer. "An old classmate of mine, hot. Long legs. She was one of the good wolves out there, fighting for a better- wait, you're a werewolf, too?"

Isaac shrugged as he stirred the marsala sauce. "Yeah. I was turned back in high school by some asshole in town. Things happened, joined another pack, thought he was my friend, but wasn't, things happened and here we are…" he said as he continued to stir the sauce, listening to see if Bella was truly out of earshot. "Sooo…. Bella doesn't know she's a wolf, does she?"

"Excuse me?" Charlie blinked at him.

Isaac gestured around the house. "There's wolf lichen in the walls. I saw it in your garden. I could smell it in the shampoo she'd used this morning. I feel the effects myself, I'm a bit more relaxed than I should be… Your werewolf one night stand was a direct hit, wasn't it?"

"Don't tell her, I swear, don't."

"I will when she asks," Isaac countered. "I don't know why you're suppressing her wolf side, but if she was born this way then she must come from a very prominent family and -" He let out a breath as he came to a conclusion. "There's only one family in America that's left. Please don't tell me she's a Hale."

"No, she's a Swan," Charlie huffed. "I made a promise to keep her out of things, but for some reason she keeps finding the supernatural."

Isaac moved to the doorway to look for Bella. Turning to glare at her father, he hissed at him. "She will always be in the supernatural community just by being born. And in the supernatural community she will always be a Hale no matter what her ID says. Trust me, I know because I'm a nobody in this world and I adopted a hunter's name with one's permission for very minimal protection if I kept a low profile. Keeping her heritage and history a secret will do nothing but harm in the long run."

Peter continued to sit there, inspecting his nails, silently. He contributed nothing to the conversation, allowing it to play out until he needed to intervene as he knew the girl was up in her room drowning in the wolf dust floating around. Glancing up at Isaac, he did offer one word. "Family."

"They're jerks too."

"Wait, there are Hales left? I thought everybody died?"

"No, not everyone," Isaac sighed, nervously running his hand through his hair. "There's Derek and Cora… Derek was in school when it happened and Cora simply ran away, believing everyone had died. Cora's somewhere in South America now. Derek was an Alpha, and a bad one at that. Turned me. Then there's Peter… Derek and Cora's uncle, and he's a psychopath but an opportunist. He does have his moments but I wouldn't trust him as far as I can throw him. Peter has a daughter called Malia, but he didn't know about her and she's a werecoyote."

Charlie sat back in his chair and ran a hand over his haggard face. "She has siblings and a cousin. I never knew. All I got was word of the fire and Talia's death and assumed…"

"You know what they say when you assume," Peter shrugged. "But might want to change the subject soon."

"Hey, Bella?" Isaac called out to her. "Food's nearly ready, are you joining me and your father? We can leave afterwards if you'd like?"

It took her a few minutes before she emerged from her room, but she was just as grouchy as she left the group when she returned. Only she had only of her favorite sweaters wrapped around her and curled up on her chair. "I've been summoned?" she said, glaring at the vampire who she knew held way too many secrets.

"Yep, food," Isaac smiled at her as he put the pots and pans on the table, hating it that he needed to use the tea towels as not to burn his hands. "I do hope you like it." Now that Isaac knew that Bella was a Hale, he could see some similarities in her face with Derek, but she got her looks mostly from her dad. Lucky girl.

"It smells incredible," Charlie said as he took Bella's plate and put some food on it for her before piling on the food on his own plate before realizing he should have allowed Isaac to have food first. "Sorry, bad manners," he muttered.

"That's alright, Mr. Swan, I cooked it after all, the cook eats last!" Isaac said as he put the food on his plate. "Besides, there's plenty to go another round."

Bella took her own food and started eating as she eyed each of the guys. Her father had an abashed and guilty look in his eye and the other two avoided her mostly. "So, everyone done sharing secrets while I was upstairs? Or shall I go back up to give you more time after dinner?"

"There's actually mold inside the house," Isaac grinned as he looked at her. "I can smell it."

"We live in a rainy forest. It's hard to find a house in the state that doesn't have mold," she pointed out. "Except for the Cullens."

"Yeah, but isn't it strange to keep it as decorative plants?" He pointed to a bowl on top of the dresser. "Okay so it's mold, but more of a fungi but still."

Bella looked over at the bowl and sighed, lowering her fork to her plate. "What are we really doing here? Because I'm beginning to wonder if going back to the Cullens isn't that much worse."

"Peter did his usual asshole-ness on your dad," Isaac pointed out. "Wasn't pretty, maybe I should ask a witch to see if there's a way to block Peter's gift…"

"You do that and a lot of good people die," said asshole replied, glaring at the wolf. "Starting with family."

"Dude, I don't have any family left. Like you said, I'm alone. I don't care what happens to other families," he countered as he took a bite off his food.

Peter kept his mouth shut but raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair. His fingers tapped on the table impatiently, as if he was waiting for something to happen. He just didn't know what this time.

Isaac looked over at Bella as he scooped more food on his fork and shoved it into his mouth. He had thought about taking off with her, making sure she'd be safe wherever she wanted to go and then to leave, but a nagging feeling told him that he couldn't do that _now_. Bella was a Hale and she'd definitely be on the hunter's hitlist if that ever came to light. Hell, wasn't she already? He had seen the DeadPool list, he was in France at the time, but the complete list was sent to all hunters, assassins and other people who liked killing supernaturals.

Scott and his pack only had the Beacon Hills list. They believed that there was only one list, but there were several. The Argents in France managed to get every list from every city holding a Nemeton, and thus creating a semi-black book of supernatural creatures from around the world. Confirmed supernatural beings. And the list was in the hands of the bad hunters too. It'd make hunting everyone super easy this way.

Isaac had been on the list, which was why he took Chris Argent's last name - amongst other reasons - and they had traced every other supernatural on the list to keep them safe. Or to blatantly ignore them after finding out that they were a bag of dicks, such as every Cold One on the planet. However, they were never able to track Isabella Marie Hale. And it made sense now, she was Bella Swan. And the longer she stayed Bella Swan, the safer she'd be. Luckily, Hale was a pretty common name and it was known that Talia Hale only had three children, not four. She was safer this way. She was safer with _him_.

He waited for her to finish her food and then shoved the rest of his plate into his mouth as well. There was food for days in his truck, he'd been driving it from Virginia all the way to Forks for these shenanigans, and he had planned on driving it back too. Yes, he had suggested going to Seattle and switch his truck in Texas, but this was his favourite truck. It was a comfortable truck and it was safe, seeing as it was spelled by witches. Not only for privacy, but also protection. There were beds he could pull down in the back and she could sleep on that.

"Are you ready?" Isaac asked her as he got to his feet. Peter could deal with the dishes and Charlie, he had a feeling he needed to get Bella out of the house as soon as possible. Or he needed to get out as soon as possible, he hated feeling this weak, this human.

Bella looked over at her father, who nodded. "Yeah, I guess. No doubt that Alice will find her way back to the house by now so the sooner we get out of town the better."

"As long as you're around Isaac she won't be able to see you, her gift doesn't work around his kind of werewolf either," Peter said assuringly. "I'll see you both once you've settled for something, for now I'm sticking around to make sure Edfart doesn't hurt your dad, Bella."

She nodded as she hugged her father and went to get her bags. There wasn't much as she didn't know just how long they were going to stay away, but it wasn't like she had much to begin with. "Road trip it is."

"Have a safe trip, call me whenever," Charlie said as he hugged his daughter again, before looking at Isaac. "If she even gets a scratch, I will kill you."

"She's safe with me, Mr. Swan," Isaac wasn't scared of the cop, not at all. He was good at ducking guns and bullets. "Besides, she's tougher than she looks," he grinned as he took one of Bella's bags and headed to the truck, quickly digging through this bag to throw out the shampoo she had stolen from her dad. He'd find the medicine later.

They watched Bella run back in for something else and Charlie shook his head. "It doesn't matter. She's still my daughter."

"Hales are more resilient than people give them credit for. I know from experience. She'll be fine," he answered. "Many have tried to kill her uncle, her brother actually succeeded once, but he won't stay dead. Stubborn fucker. They are fighters. She's got it too."

"Don't tell her anything, you hear?"

"What? Afraid she'll hate you?"

"Wouldn't you?"

Isaac shrugged. "It all depends on how you break the news to her, but sure, Mr. Swan, I will keep my mouth shut for as long as we're in Forks, won't talk to her at all," he said before jumping into his truck and waited for Bella to come and join him. Not five minutes later, she settled next to him.

"Okay. Take me away then."

He nodded as he started the truck and drove off. He was quiet all the way through Forks, and once leaving city limits, he took a deep breath. "Sorry about that, I told your father I wouldn't say anything, and I told him I could guarantee that until we left Forks."

Bella shook her head and smiled. "You don't have to promise him anything. You have no obligations. You're doing me a favor getting me away from the Cullens so I'm in debt to you, so don't worry about him."

"You do that all the time? Hang around with strangers who can help you in a way without knowing anything about them?" He asked her as he briefly looked over to her as he drove before he looked back at the road. "I know I said I'm not a serial killer, but still. I can cleanse you from the Cullen's influence while they can actually influence you to stick around with them. What makes me better than them?"

"You're different because you actually free my mind instead of clouding it," she replied. "But you're right, I don't know you. No doubt Peter's told you all about me."

"Not everything," he assured her. "Just the important bits. He's good at giving you enough to piece things together. Your dad told me more than Peter did, truly."

"Charlie?" she replied, doubtful.

"Yeah," he nodded. "So, ask me anything."

She nodded, unsure as she looked around before setting her gaze out the window for a moment. "Okay, um… So, uh, where are you from?"


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm from a town called Beacon Hills, California," he sighed. "Lovely weather. Mom, Dad, big brother and me for a few years. Camden died in Afghanistan and mom… she couldn't take the loss so…" he said softly. "Things got bad with my dad, but he's dead now too so… Then my girlfriend died and her dad took me to France so I could live with their family, become a hunter but then I became a chef."

"So, you went to France to learn how to make a decent Italian lasagna?" Bella asked, smirking. "Mine is better. The marsala wasn't bad though."

"Nah, the American way is the better Italian cooking if you ask me," Isaac laughed. "Seriously, any pasta is better here, we season it in such a way that's it's an insult to most Italians, but so damn good. But France has great chefs. I did some internships in England and Italy, too."

"Any food is good if it's made fresh," she shrugged. "So, where are we going? Texas you said, right?"

Isaac shrugged. "Anywhere you want, really. Thought it'd be nice to just drive for a few days and see where we end up, although… I want to tell you something about how I became a werewolf, if that's alright with you."

"Sure," she said as she pulled off her shoes and settled into the chair more comfortably. A few days driving, seeing the sights, was probably a great thing to settle her mind. To process things, because she still felt as if she was being overwhelmed by information.

"I know that a lot has come to you today, a lot of information, new information, and I guess that if you'll stick around for a bit longer, you'll learn more and more," Isaac said, when Bella nodded, he continued. "After school hours, I worked at the graveyard, digging graves. I was a quiet kid, trying to be invisible and study hard because my dad… he… well, he was really big on me getting great grades and make something out of myself. Like my brother Camden. One night, there was something at the cemetery, something out of the ordinary. I mean, sometimes you see lights or white figures, but this was something different. Rustling of leaves, frantically running around. I wasn't aware of what was going on but I found myself out of my digger, into the grave I just dug, scared shitless," he chuckled. "I was pretty sure I was going to die, until I heard some growling and fighting and the digger was pulled off of me and there he was… my saviour. My… Alpha. Derek offered the bite to me, knowing that I was quiet, shy, or at least pretended to be and the bite would make me stronger, more durable. So he bit me and I became his beta. But man, he was a dick, and for an Alpha quite incompetent. I felt more safe around Scott, another beta, than I felt around my own Alpha. Not to mention, Derek had a psycho uncle who… well, is quite a character himself."

Bella listened silently until he finished. She felt that he wasn't done and nodded. "Sounds like quite the experience. Your city sounds like it must be a blast with so many creatures running around."

"Beacon Hills was a supernatural mess," Isaac chuckled. "Don't get me wrong, we had our dealings with supernatural crap, but there were some good times too. I thought I had found some great friends with Scott's pack, I felt safe, but they always kept me out of the loop. I never knew what was going on, unless they needed someone who had anger issues. But for a while, I didn't feel as awkward and out of place like I had felt for years."

"And now?" she questioned. "With this whole supernatural rescue project you're working on with Peter?"

"Well, after my girlfriend died, her dad took me to France with him. I wasn't 18 yet, an orphan, so yeah… In any case, I tried to reach out many times to them, sending emails, never getting anything back. So I gave up. They weren't _real friends_ then, were they? I did try to keep up with the happenings in Beacon Hills, Chris Argent, Allison's father, occasionally emailed me back after he returned to Beacon Hills, but he was far too busy to respond all the time. But he did tell me not to come back, because it was dangerous," he let out a snort. "Too dangerous for a werewolf who had been trained to be a hunter. I could have helped them while they were fighting hunters lead by Chris Argent's father, but I wasn't allowed to. Oh, I got mad, so mad, and Chris eventually sent me to Peter to do our own thing for the supernatural community. There are now two separate Argent hunters. Those who go by the new code; ' _nous protègons ceux qui ne peuvent pas se protèger eux-měmes_ ' which means 'we protect those who can't protect themselves' and those who go by the old code; ' _nous chassons ceux qui nous chassent_ ', meaning 'we hunt those who hunt us'. It's those who live by the old code that are hunting us."

Bella let out a breath as she thought about him being pushed aside while his former friends sounded like the type to do about the same thing, except knowing what little she did of Peter as she did through Jasper, she was certain of one thing. The vampires had been around long enough to have money and connections. No doubt they would be able to set up a strong and successful network that would trample whatever his puppy friends tried. "I would think that was a good thing. You'd do more than they could ever accomplish, but it does make me curious about them." But damn, hearing Isaac speak French was sexy.

"Well, that's why I wanted to tell you about me, and how my life was, because I think that you and I should make the trip down to Beacon Hills," Isaac said carefully.

"You sound like you're about to puke by saying that. What don't you want to tell me?" She demanded.

"Where are your pills? Your medication?" He wondered as he looked at her briefly, before turning his attention back to the road.

She narrowed her eyes. "In my bag. Why do you want to know?"

"Could you get them for me, please?"

She grabbed her backpack and slowly dug out the bottle as she watched him cautiously. "Here. They're for my mood swings. I don't know what the big deal is."

He snatched the bottle from her hand and looked at the label, recognizing the prescribing doctor. "Yep, just as I thought," he said as he opened the window and threw the bottle out onto the road. "No more pills for you."

Bella jumped up onto her knees on the seat, screeching. "Why the fuck would you do that?! Do you understand how insane I could get without those?!"

"Yeah," Isaac nodded slowly. "I think I have a pretty good idea how insane you could get without those. When's the next full moon? We might have to get kinky, I might have to tie you up very tightly to make sure you don't take my head off."

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"Those pills were nothing but dried _moss_ in casings. Letharia Vulpina, or wolf's lichen. It weakens a werewolf up to a point where the werewolf becomes more human. Your dad's house is laced with it. The shampoo you use? Laced with it. The plants? Well, the green moss is pretty."

Bella could only shake her head in disbelief. "No, you can't possibly be right because then I would have had to come in contact with one of those other types of wolves, like yours or the kind you mentioned because I'm definitely not Native American."

"No, you're even more important, more precious than that," Isaac said. "Those pills were prescribed by a Doctor Deaton from Beacon Hills, California. Now, I happen to know Dr. Deaton, and he's a veterinarian."

Her jaw fell open and snapped it closed. "I am not a fucking dog."

"He is also the Druid Emissary to the Hale family and loyal to Scott's pack. And friendly with Chris Argent," Isaac explained.

"Still doesn't explain how the fuck you believe I'm a werewolf of whatever kind."

"When I entered your dad's house, I felt it immediately, the effects of the moss all around the house. Also, your dad had a one night stand with a werewolf, and he admitted that it was Talia Hale. You're a born werewolf."

She blinked and shook her head again, fully in denial. "No. That was before he met my mother, Renee. I'm eighteen, so you see, that can't be true."

"And that's why we're going to Beacon Hills to get you some answers, but Bella, you are a werewolf and if you're truly a Hale, you're basically werewolf royalty."

Bella sneered at him as she settled into her seat. "Yeah, great. Just get me a crown and scepter and I'll just tell everyone to go fuck themselves."

Isaac started to laugh. "That can be arranged. And if you're truly a Hale, you'd be the youngest of Talia's children. You'll get along with Peter swimmingly. You might still want to punch your brother Derek."

"Wait. The same Derek that turned you and asshole Alpha that can't lead shit?" she asked.

"One and the same! Oh wait, this is an even more fun story. So, in theory, if you're Derek's sister, you have an older sister called Cora, then there's Derek and Laura. Laura was an Alpha until Peter, your uncle, stole it from her. Then Derek stole it back from Peter because Peter was being a dick and then later Derek gave up his Alpha spark to save Cora from mistletoe poisoning."

"How do you steal an Alpha status?" she asked, rubbing her temples, trying to learn the new werewolf jargon that was now her world if what he was telling her was true. That and what seemed to be her family history. Add in the mental note to call and bitch out her father when they stopped for the night…

He flicked out his nails one one hand. "With these. When you're a beta and want to take your Alpha's power. Another way to become an Alpha is when a bunch of us betas or omegas are together and the strongest of us becomes our leader. Scott became an Alpha because he's a True Alpha, something that's incredibly rare. Or, you know, in your case, being an Alpha is hereditary. Peter had to steal the Alpha power because his sister was one and passed it down to her children in succession after her death. He's outside the blood line, sort to speak. So, it's quite possible that during your first moon off your meds, you're going to be a lot stronger than I am and I will have to restrain you so you won't hurt yourself or others."

She blew out a breath. "This is a lot. It sounds like I come from a family of assholes. At least it explains why I seemed to get along with Jasper and Peter so well now."

"Yep, but the good thing is that you don't have to be an asshole yourself. Talia was all about promoting good will with her powers. Just like the hunters, there's a good and bad side now."

The glare she shot him would have told him enough of what she thought of him at the moment, that she could easily fall into the category of asshole family if she so desired. And she was certainly running the line pretty close. "I think it might be a good idea to come up with some plan."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we're going to Beacon Hills, right? You want to confront this Deacon doctor and why he's been giving me these pills. May as well arrange a family reunion if it's true. I mean, they are my family, even if they are jerks. If it doesn't go well, then I can't say I didn't try."

"Oh, I know why he's been giving you the pills, to subdue your werewolf side, likely to keep you safe. But yeah, we go in, we find Deaton, find Derek… and hope to avoid Scott and his friends," he let out a breath as he fumbled his phone out of his pocket. "On second thought... Let's make sure things are good there before we arrive in… about 13 hours," he connected the phone to the USB in his car and placed it in the phone holder. "Oh, if you want something to snack, you can get through that door behind us, I've got plenty of food in there. Or if you want to sleep, I'll pull over and get the bed out for you, but I think I'm going to drive through the night."

"I don't think I can get much sleep anyway," Bella replied as she stared out of the window.

"Yeah… sorry for the overload of experiences and information," he apologized. "But you kinda brought it onto yourself by demanding answers."

"I know," she muttered, slowly coming down from everything and processing as she gestured to the phone. "Weren't you supposed to call someone?" It was strangely easy to relax next to Isaac for some reason. She hadn't felt uncomfortable in his truck with him that morning, either. Yeah, he had lied a little, withheld a little information, but maybe that was because of Peter.

After all, she had demanded answers and Peter had told her that she'd have to find out herself.

Well, she'd rather know that her life is stranger than it was _now_ than later. A werewolf? Really? At least she wasn't like Jake. She made a mental note of asking Isaac about being his kind of werewolf later, she still needed to digest everything else.

Sighing, Isaac unlocked his phone and called Chris Argent on speaker phone. He was about to hang up after the phone rang a couple of times but Argent picked up eventually. "Hey, it's Isaac," he said as he kept driving, his hands tightly gripping the wheel. He _really_ didn't want to go back to Beacon Hills.

" _Hey Isaac, how's it going? Are you still running with Peter?"_

"I'm fine… and yes. Sort of. I don't know. He calls when he needs me," Isaac replied. Which was the truth because even though Isaac was working with Peter, it wasn't as if they were together all the time. It were usually just phone calls. Text messages. And he wasn't told a lot, either. "He's annoying, especially when he decides to interfere with the job he sent me on in the first place. How's Beacon Hills? Is it safe?"

" _The situation is manageable, why do you ask?"_

"Ah, I… uh… am coming to Beacon Hills."

" _What! Isaac, you can't!"_

"I can. And I will. I don't want to, but I have to. Can you make sure that Deaton and the Hales are available for me and keep Scott out of my way while I'm there?"

It was quiet on the other side for a moment. " _You are supposed to be heading to Virginia."_

"Something came up," Isaac retorted. "Can you help me or not?"

" _Why Deaton and why the Hales? Why not me?"_

"I need you to keep Scott occupied because I might want to slam my fist into his face when I see him," Isaac gripped the steering wheel, hard. "I need Deaton and the Hales. If you're not going to help me, that's fine, but I'll be going in and whatever happens will be on you."

" _You found her, didn't you? You actually found her…"_ Argent said after a while, after connecting the dots inside his mind.

"What? I don't know what you're talking about," Isaac said sheepishly.

" _Of course you don't. Yeah. Sure. I'll help you. And let me make sure Kate's out of the country too."_

Isaac was surprised at that. "Kate is still alive? How the fuck did that happen?"

" _She's an Argent and a psychopath, what do you think?"_ Chris shot at him. " _I'll send you a text when I know it's safe and have arranged your meets. But for fuck's sake, Isaac, I hope you know what you're doing."_

If Bella was a Hale, it'd be best if Kate was indeed far away from Beacon Hills as possible. Either Kate would kill her, or Bella would kill Kate. Or at least try to. "Thanks, bye," Isaac said as he disconnected the call. "Yep, 26 years old and I still can't do anything by myself. It's a miracle I can tie my own shoelaces!" He then let out a snort. "Sorry."

"Eh," Bella shrugged, but found it strange that this man Chris - who could have been a father figure for Isaac, or maybe not, or maybe it was complicated, sounded as if he didn't want to see Isaac. At all. "Do you have friends, at all?"

"Me? Not since I left Beacon Hills. Can't trust anyone but me. Learned that the hard way."

Trust issues. Well, she supposed that would happen when you felt like you had been betrayed by the people you supposedly were friends with. Right now, she had some serious trust issues herself. Bella wasn't sure if she could ever trust a Cold One again. And that included Peter Whitlock. "What about Peter?"

"We have a common goal. I mean, he wants to do good, wants to help the broader supernatural community, and other than that, he's bankrolling everything, so he's a means to an end. I'm using him as much as he uses me," Isaac explained. "He might be easy to be trusted because he seems to know everything, but that also makes him very dangerous."

Bella nodded as she looked at him, his hands still gripping the steering wheel. "You really don't want to go to Beacon Hills?"

"You need to be there, so I'm taking you there. You can decide whether or not you're leaving with me after we get to the truth of who you truly are. I've already done my job, I got you out of the grasp of a set of Cold Ones," he replied, not sounding like a happy camper anymore, but more like a wounded puppy who wanted to kick and scream. "And I'm possibly reuniting you with your family, so that's a bonus."

"The asshole former Alpha and the psychopath."

"And a cousin. I heard nothing but good things about her."

"Okay… so… werewolves like to be in a pack, right? There's an Alpha and a handful of Betas?" Bella asked, turning a little in her seat as she looked at him. "Like… Jake is an Alpha and he has his betas. As does Sam."

"Unlike the Quileute shifters though, the rank of Alpha and Beta does come with an increase or decrease in strength. My kind of werewolves are stronger in a pack. An Alpha gets his strength from his subordinates and gives it back in return," Isaac replied. "You can be a Beta of an Alpha who hasn't bitten you, you can choose your own pack, it's just that the Alpha has to accept you as a part of his pack."

"So you're still a part of Scott's pack?"

"No. I made the conscious decision to leave the pack once I was in France and realized that my pack hadn't contacted me for months despite my best efforts," Isaac said bitterly. "I'm an Omega. A lone wolf. No Alpha, no pack. The main difference is is that I'm weaker than I used to be and less protected. But that's alright, I've had hunter training. I don't have to rely on my werewolf side if I don't want to. Uh… Chris actually told me to live as human as possible so that I would be safer."

Bella liked it that Isaac was being truthful and honest about things. He didn't quite volunteer the information himself, she really had to ask, but for someone with trust issues - as he had explained - she could understand completely. Besides, if she were his kind of werewolf she needed to know this. "But you're still strong, though, aren't you? Because you are a werewolf, you must be stronger than an ordinary human."

"Oh yeah, I am still strong and fast and have my healing abilities."

"So what else do I need to know about your kind of werewolves?"

"In our community being a werewolf is considered a gift, and in a way it is. However, the gift comes at a cost. Our abilities come from the moon and during the full moon everything is heightened. Our strength. Our emotions. Oh, definitely our emotions. Without training, werewolves will cause death and destruction during the full moon."

Bella let out a snort. "Sort of like PMS."

He laughed at that. "I guess, I wouldn't know now, would I?"

"So all the anger issues that I've had and got those pills for, they all come from my werewolf side?"

"Well, to be honest, your werewolf side was severely suppressed and I honestly have no idea what you're going to be like on your first full moon as a free woman," he quickly looked over to her, genuine worry in his beautiful blue eyes. "If you are a Hale, it's best if a Hale talks to you about it since they have experience with being a born werewolf. There are various scenarios that could happen on your first full moon off your medication and away from the dampening of your house and the tribe area."

"Like what?"

"Well, you could become unhinged and want death and mayhem, or you could be riding it out like it's nothing. Or even a combination of both."

"Do you remember your first full moon?"

"Yep," Isaac nodded with a sigh. "I was at the police station, they had just arrested me for the murder of my father. I nearly killed innocent people if it weren't for Derek to have found me in time. My second full moon was… interesting. Derek chained us all up but Erica and Boyd - the other new betas - broke free and then I broke free but managed to help Derek to subdue them, I think I may have surprised Derek with that."

"It's basically training to learn control, right? Is it hard?"

"Nah," he half shrugged. "If I can do it, you can do it too."


	5. Chapter 5

Bella had fallen asleep around midnight, and he stopped at a gas station at around 4 am to fill the truck up. He took a quick nap himself after making sure they were in a safe area, locking all the doors of the truck, and continued to drive after he had woken up again at 6. He didn't understand how Bella was comfortable in her position on the chair, but she kept on sleeping; likely sleeping off the excitement and information she had received the day before.

She needed her rest. Oh, how bad she needed that rest for today. Hell, if he could have taken more hours of sleep, he would have. But he wanted to get this over with quickly. Talk to Deaton. Then the Hales. Introduce her to her family and if she wanted to stay, that was fine, but he wouldn't be staying. Despite Derek and Peter's shortcomings, Bella was family to them and she'd be safe. Maybe they'd take her to see Cora in South America where it was still a lot safer to be a supernatural being than it was in the States.

She woke up just as he turned onto the highway. "Good morning," he greeted her with a smile. "We'll be in Beacon Hills in 30 minutes. Would you like me to stop so we can have some breakfast first? And coffee?"

Bella let out a groan as she rubbed her eyes. "Coffee," she nodded. "And a piss."

"Ah… uh… there's no gas station on this road," he said, slightly embarrassed. "And I don't have a toilet on this truck."

"You have toilet paper?"

"Of course."

"Then I'll be fine," she replied as she put her arms behind her head and stretched herself, her chest pushing forward as she did. The area they were driving in was beautiful. There were some mountains, a lot of green and there was a river beside the highway they were on. More importantly, they were in California. No more cold weather, she could choose where she wanted to go now.

She was well aware that she landed from one shitstorm into another, but at least she was going to be in her own right mind soon. Bella simply needed to spend some more time around Isaac - or another werewolf of his kind - and she'd be golden. Yesterday didn't happen for the most part. There was no way that she was a werewolf, and there was no way that she was anything special. Peter Whitlock was a prankster. But if this was all a prank, then it was a very elaborate one, and not at all funny. "Any chance that all of this is an elaborate joke or that I'm hallucinating?"

"Nope, sorry," he said as he parked the truck in a parking area next to the road, with a lovely view over one of the lakes and a bunch of bushes nearby. Isaac went into the back of his truck and handed Bella a roll of toilet paper. "I'll start the coffee, are you good with eating some leftovers from yesterday's tasting?"

"Totally," Bella said, grateful for the roll and headed out into the bushes. After she was done, she took some time to take in the environment a little. Check out the water. The water was safe, it was in motion, clear and there were fish swimming in them. Sitting down on her knees, she splashed some water in her face and sighed happily as it cleared the feeling of feeling sleepy.

Now that her head was clearing up, the fog lifting, she felt stupid for not heeding Edward's warning the moment he warned her away. 'If you were smart, you'd stay away from me.' She and her stupid big mouth. Her curiosity getting the better of her. She hadn't been smart, not even for argument's sake, because deep down, she'd wanted a boyfriend. Of course she didn't stay away from him, he became her obsession as she was his. But, truth be told, Edward _should_ and _could_ have stayed clear of her, too. This wasn't on her.

Unhealthy. Had it been one of her classmates, she'd have done anything to keep them away from the _addiction_. It was strange that she wasn't having any withdrawal symptoms. Was that because of Isaac, the distance or herself? Or maybe they still had to rear their ugly heads? She hoped she was going to be fine.

From now on, she was going to stick to having one night stands. Like she had done before Edward Cullen. She chuckled to herself. Yeah, he'd been her boyfriend but he didn't want to have sex with her because he could kill her. What kind of lame excuse was that? Control and knowing your own strength would have made the hypothetical sex a lot safe. Fuck, she should have left him when she had discovered that prude side of him.

She sat down in the grass as she stared out in front of her. She'd been so stupid. Bella should have seen it coming, really. Edward and his family had simply been too flawless, too perfect. No one is that flawless and perfect. No one. And apart from all of that, their personalities were severely lacking, now that she thought of it.

And it was _so hard_ to be a human around them, because they didn't eat, sleep or had to go to the toilet and thus Bella ate less, slept less and well, she couldn't avoid going to the toilet, but still. It felt awkward knowing that there were people in the house who were capable of hearing her dropping the kids off at the pool and how heavy they were and likely even how moist.

Gross.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when Isaac sat down next to her, holding a mug of coffee for her. "Jeez!"

"Sorry," he apologized as he set down his own mug and got the spoons, sugar and milk out of his pocket. "Wasn't sure if you needed anything, so… I brought it all," he said before placing them in the grass and picking up his coffee again.

"Thanks," Bella said as she gratefully took the sugar and milk and dumped it all in her mug before stirring it all in. "Sorry, I uh… was lost in thought."

"You don't need to apologize," Isaac laughed, shaking his head. "I should have made some noise at least to alert you that I was coming out of the truck with coffee. Any good thoughts?"

"No, not really," she sighed as she took a sip of the coffee, the gloriously tasting coffee. "I guess I'm mostly beating myself up for allowing myself to get caught in Edward's web… you know…"

"You shouldn't," he replied, a warm smile on his face. "It could have happened to anyone. Usually girls in your position get killed or turned."

"Yeah, that was my fate until Peter likely told the Volturi about my status. True or not, I'm glad that the target is off my back," she nodded before thinking of something. "Would it even have worked if I'm truly a werewolf?"

Isaac took a sip of his coffee. "I don't know, likely not."

"Death?"

"Maybe," he took another sip of his coffee. "I don't know. As far as I know no Cold One has ever tried to turn a werewolf, but their venom can cause some serious damage, even for a werewolf with healing abilities. With Cold Ones it's always best to avoid any confrontation and surprise them with your attack, really. Took me weeks to heal from a tiny little splash of venom. Could have been worse."

Bella pushed up her sleeve and revealed her scar to him. "I was kidnapped by a nomadic Cold One because the Cullens killed one of their friends, he bit me and Edward sucked the venom out of me."

He gently took her wrist and rubbed his thumb over it. "Must have hurt like hell."

"That's an understatement, but if I'm a werewolf, why didn't it heal properly?"

"I don't know," he said as he released her wrist and took another sip of his coffee. "Might be because of the fact that your father tried everything in his power to suppress your werewolf side, it's possible it'll heal once it's all out of your system. We'll have to ask Deaton about it, if you're worried. I mean, he knows more about the workings of the moss than I do - and likely about the Cold One venom. I just feel the effects of it. Never really paid attention to herbs and shit." He finished his coffee. "Are you done? There's some leftovers in the fridge if you need something to eat, but I think we should head into Beacon Hills now."

Bella could tell that Isaac was anxious. It was virtually rolling off of him. He really didn't want to go to Beacon Hills and he was only going because of her. And he sort of implied that it was fine if she stayed there, by herself, with strangers, than to go with him - also a complete stranger. Yeah right. Charlie had let her go, but she doubted that he'd like her to stay in a strange town all by herself. And she really didn't want to go back to Forks. Before she could think of something encouraging to say to this man sitting next to her, her phone rang; it was her dad. "Hey dad."

" _Hey Bells, how are you doing?"_

"Fine," she laughed as she got to her feet and finished her coffee as she walked back to the truck. "I've only been gone for less than a day, is everything alright?"

" _Peter wanted me to call you to tell you what was written on the note he gave me yesterday."_

"Oh, this is going to be good," Bella huffed. "Mr. Know-it-all."

" _It says… 'Bella chooses Isaac. Isaac takes Bella to Texas. No, to 'Mom'. No, to Beacon Hills, for answers'."_

"Of course it does," Bella rolled her eyes. "You don't mind, do you? I mean, I still feel this is one elaborate prank and that Edward will be in Beacon Hills to get me back or something."

" _Sweetheart,"_ Charlie sighed. " _I understand. I've made you hide a part of who you are without informing you about your true heritage and perhaps that was wrong of me, but Talia… she just wanted to be sure that at least one of her children would survive whatever was going to happen. Have someone in waiting in case everyone died. She gave you to me, your biological father, to keep you human and safe. Nobody knew who you are."_

"Don't think I'm not happy about you lying to me, you should have told me."

" _I think you'll discover a lot more soon that will make you even angrier with me. Try not to lose your cool when Deaton is telling you more about why and how. He was very close to Talia Hale and her family for years and even now, is an emissary to them and the new pack in town."_

"I never lose my cool!" Bella shot at him.

" _Uhuh,"_ Charlie let out a chuckle. " _Good luck, kiddo. Call me whenever you want."_

"And what the fuck, have you been talking to people there?" Bella said angrily as she threw her empty mug against a rock next to the truck, making Isaac jump slightly as he passed her. "You know more than you're letting on!"

" _Sweetheart, of course I'm in contact with people in Beacon Hills. With Deaton. He needed to know about you and your temper so he could adjust your pills…"_

She let out a low growl, disconnected the phone and tossed it into the water. "I fucking hate this!" Bella then turned around to face Isaac, who was looking at her, warily. "Don't worry, I wouldn't- I needed a new phone anyway."

"Good thing I haven't showed you where I've hidden some weapons in the truck," Isaac said amused as he got into the truck to put his mug away. He opened the fridge to grab a handful of finger sandwiches and crawled behind the wheel. "Are you coming or do you need some more time to fume?"

"I swear, if someone lies to me again…" Bella said angrily as she pulled the passenger door shut. "I'm so fucking done with it all. So fucking done."

"Sounds to me it's time you start living your own life, stop thinking about what others may think," Isaac made a mental note of making sure that the door was still good to go, otherwise he'd have to make sure to make the truck a little bit more resistant against werewolf strength. Bella was only coming off of her medication now, there was no doubt that it was still inside of her, it was still on her, she needed to take a shower to get the stuff off of her, but he really hoped she could control her temper once she was allowed to control it on her own. Otherwise she'd be a complete handful to whomever she choose to stay with.

If she decided to stick around in Beacon Hills with the Hales that was more than alright. They had their fair share of anger issues and control issues. Isaac might hang back to watch the Hales having to deal with Bella once she fully comes off of her meds and have her experience her first full moon. "Oh crap," Isaac groaned after they'd been driving for a few minutes.

"What?"

"The full moon is in a few days. I don't know when you're entirely clean, and it's at least a two day drive to Virginia - if you want to join me. I think we need to stay in Beacon Hills until the worst has passed… There are plenty of places here that can hold a werewolf who's not in full control yet." He hated this. But he needed someone better than him close by to make sure that she wouldn't go off and kill people.

Oh, he hated this with a passion. He'd have to get them into a motel and he'd have to use his own name because they knew him in Beacon Hills or you know, it was easy to figure out he wasn't an Argent. With so many hunters in town… On the other hand, he had another fake ID saying that he was Peter Whitlock. Even had Peter's credit card on him. Yeah, that was a better idea. "At least it'll give you some more time to get to know your family, right?"

"You don't have to stay if you don't-"

"No, I'm staying," Isaac said quickly, looking over to her as he drove. "You're kind of my responsibility until after your first turn. I mean, I tossed out your pills and all," he said impishly. "But if you decide you don't want to come with me before you turn, I'll be heading off and leaving you here."

"Yeah, and if you do that, I'll tear off your balls," Bella muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. "No offense, but Beacon Hills sounds like a hotbed for trouble, and aren't I supposed to stay out of trouble?"

"Oh…" he blinked before scratching his head. "Oh, so you're…"

"Yeah, sure. I'm coming with you to whatever you're going to do next. After we survive your old hometown."

He smiled at her then, suddenly a whole weight falling off of his shoulders at her admission that she wanted to come along with him - although he wouldn't have minded to go on on his own, he was used to being alone. Being alone meant you wouldn't get hurt. "Great."

As they were driving into Beacon Hills, Isaac started to feel the bile rise in his throat. How could a town - the town he was born in and grew up in - make him feel so terrible? A lot had changed since he was in town last. A lot of buildings were ruined, evidence of supernatural fights. Bullet holes, stray arrows, more graffiti and more homeless people, but Isaac could tell that the community was working hard to make it habitable again.

With the sun out, it probably looked worse than it was.

He drove them past the hospital to cross Industry Bridge. Oh, there were shorter ways to the Animal Clinic but he wanted to avoid those ways because one led right past the Sheriff's station. He followed the road next to the river towards Northern Bridge and went left. The Animal Clinic was right at the end of the street. He wasted about five whole minutes by avoiding places where his friends could hang out.

Then again, there was a possibility that Scott would be at the clinic. He hadn't thought about that. He'd better sniff the air to see whether or not Scott's scent there would be present or not.

"You weren't kidding when you said that you were taking me to a veterinarian," Bella said with a straight face as she pulled on her shoes and Isaac parked the truck. "Is this a joke?"

"Oh, he's a veterinarian, alright. I mean, people do have to earn money and all. But half of this building is made out of mountain ash, preventing the supernatural from bursting in, going further than the reception area, unless a human opens the gate," Isaac's truck was the only one in the parking lot, which was good. He half expected Chris Argent to stay at Deaton's until he'd arrive, but thank fuck they were alone.

He got out of the truck and sniffed the air. Scott had been there, recently, but the scent wasn't fresh, maybe a few hours old. There were other scents there, ones that he didn't recognize, and certainly not one belonging to Stiles or Lydia. But then again, last thing he had heard about Stiles was that he was an FBI agent now. Which was strange, didn't he have to go through college first? Isaac smelled the sheriff. Argent's scent was the most recent one, though, and his scent was confusing, why was it infused with the scent of Scott's mother?

"You look constipated," Bella stated as she leaned against the truck, watching him. "What are you doing?"

"To make sure we're truly alone," Isaac explained with half a smile. "New scents are confusing, other scents are just plain odd."

"Like what?"

"Argent's scent, for example. I can smell Scott's mother on him. I mean, I always thought that she and the sheriff would end up together, seeing as they basically co-parented Stiles and Scott anyway but… it's a weird combination, really."

She gave him an incredulous look before rolling her eyes at him. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah," he smiled at her. "Let's go inside."


	6. Chapter 6

The smell of formaldehyde and detergent penetrated his nose the moment they set foot inside the building. It masked the smell of all the animals in the backroom. As always, the little gate to the back was closed, so all they could do now was to stand around and hoped that Deaton had heard the door.

Although, knowing the man, he'd just make them wait for a long time for no reason.

"Nice place," Bella said as she looked around. "Very much like a veterinarian's office."

"Try opening the gate," Isaac smirked as he nodded to it.

"You just told me about the mountain ash."

"I did, but you still don't think you're anything supernatural, so… consider this a good test," Isaac nodded, a playful smile now on his face. "Go on then, I dare you."

Bella huffed as she took a few steps forward to the gate and the moment she reached out to push it open, an invisible barrier stopped her from doing so. "What the fuck," she muttered to herself before trying again. And again. And again. She turned around to see Isaac snicker. "What!"

"If this was an elaborate prank, like you believe, how is that possible?"

"I don't know! Electricity?"

"Nah, you'd feel electricity, trust me. It hurts," he replied as he kept his eyes on her. "You want to try that again or shall we wait for Deaton?"

"Isaac, I'm not a werewolf. I have anger issues, they call it Intermittent Explosive Disorder or IED. You threw my pills out of the truck!" This was stupid. This was the worst idea ever. Stupidity again. Always not thinking. She was so angry with herself, with Isaac, with her dad, with Edward. "Fuck this shit!"

"Then if you're not a werewolf, then we're in the right place anyway because this is where your pills were coming from."

She glared back at him. "From a vet, right," she grumbled. She couldn't quite argue against it because of everything her father had admitted to, but it was disturbing at the same time. Her eyes glanced over the gate and counter area with a deep breath. "So what do we do? Wait? Is this guy gonna shove a thermometer up your ass?"

"Up yours maybe," Isaac grinned. "He's likely going to scold me for being back in Beacon Hills."

"You're correct," Deaton's voice sounded as he came through the door and stood at the closed gate. "Welcome back, Isaac. You look… well."

Bella turned around to the new voice. Her eyes roamed over him a couple times, dismissing him easily, unimpressed. "So you're my dealer? I kinda expected, I dunno - more."

Deaton blinked at her before looking at Isaac, then back at the girl. "Excuse me, young lady?"

"This is Bella Swan, you owe her some answers," Isaac said as he walked to the gate. "Open the gate, we need privacy."

Deaton paled as he quickly opened the gate to allow the two youngsters in. Isaac headed straight to the exam room with Bella in tow and Deaton couldn't help but follow. Bella. She was here. And that was not good.

Bella watched as Isaac pushed Deaton against the wall after the vet closed the door. "Isaac, hey, don't."

"It's alright," Deaton said reassuringly as he looked at her before looking at the man in front of him. "What's going on, Isaac?"

"How dare you to interfere with someone's life like that? I can understand that her father would, but you? You're supposed to help. Not hamper," Isaac said, still holding Deaton against the wall. "And don't give me that bullshit about only doing what you were told."

"But I was," the vet said calmly. "Now, please let me go so we can talk like the civilized people that we are, or I'll make you let go of me and it will be painful."

Isaac let out a frustrated grunt and let go of Deaton before walking to the furthest wall and crossed his arms over his chest, keeping an eye on all the doors, Deaton and Bella.

Deaton cautiously looked at the werewolf before looking at Bella with a kind smile. "Now, what can I do for you, miss Swan?"

Bella tilted her head as she studied the man, trying to get a feel for him and trying to think of exactly what it was she wanted to say, or ask. She walked along the examination room touching a few items along her path before pausing and narrowing her eyes on him when one word came to mind. "Why?" She cautiously looked at Isaac for a moment as she saw a hint of embarrassment flash over his face, and he shifted his stance a little, slouching, but aware of what was being said.

"Because your mother asked me to keep you safe, human, until you were ready and capable of taking care of yourself," he replied kindly. "Now, with the war going on, your father and I decided to keep you in the dark."

"If what I hear of my family is true, do you truly think that was a wise idea? Keeping me naive of my history?" she quietly questioned him. "I would be left defenseless and nearly vulnerable."

"Especially with your family's history. Your father could have protected you."

"Uhm, she was involved with a handful of Cold Ones," Isaac piped up, still slouching, as if he was trying to make himself smaller. "There is no way that Charlie could have done something about that."

Bella scowled at the man's statement, allowing Isaac to explain her supernatural interactions back in Washington. Holding up her unhealed wrist as proof of that lack of knowledge could have cost her her life.

"Interesting," Deaton said as he observed her wrist. "Have you ever had broken bones or the flu?"

Sighing irritably, she looked over at Isaac with a roll of her eyes. "No flu or anything like that, but I broke my hand punching a shifter in the face, and my left leg when I was hunted by a Cold One. He stepped on it."

"But it didn't take the normal eight weeks to heal, did it?"

"I wasn't paying attention," Bella frowned.

"Interesting," Deaton said thoughtfully. "It's likely that the wolf lichen shut down the most explosive parts of being a werewolf - mostly your heightened emotions - and only lessened others, like your ability to heal. I'm not sure, but it's quite possible that once it's fully out of your system that it will heal. Unless you decide after this trip to go back on the pills."

"If you say interesting one more time, I'll punch you in the face. You're supernatural, right? We can test on you," she smiled.

"I'm a human, Miss Swan, I do get hurt," he reminded her playfully. He then walked to a cabinet and grabbed a small folder from a hidden compartment and handing it over to her. You were born on September 13 1997 here in Beacon Hills. Right here at the clinic. Your dad was present upon Talia's request."

"No, that can't be me then, I was born in 2002, I just turned 18."

"Small children have a skewed sense of time. Charlie told me that he and Renee celebrated your birthday every two years until you were five years old - ten years old - so you could start school as part of your new identity. Being small and looking younger than you actually were worked for you," Deaton explained. "As you can see in the file I registered how much you were getting and my instructions to your father. I even had the Quileute shaman in the loop for when you were there every full moon to have a sleepover at your friend Jake."

Crossing her arms, Bella paced the floor as her anger continued to rise as she listened to him speak. "And what of the family I heard I have? Do they know anything about me? Do they even know I exist?"

"No, they don't," Deaton sighed. "Your mother liked to roam around for months at a time and kept her pregnancy a secret. Because she wanted her bloodline to survive in case anything happened to her family here in Beacon Hills."

"Do you really think that was fair? To them, to me? Especially after all that I've heard?" she hissed, swinging her arm, knocking a shelf full of supplies onto the floor.

"No doubt Isaac has already told you about your family, and, as you will learn yourself, the Hales have always been slightly… out of step with the rest of the community here in Beacon Hills. They did use their wealth to build most of Beacon Hills, wanting the town to thrive."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't give a shit about money. All I ever knew was my father and the woman I thought was my mother. I found out that I actually have some family out there and deserve to at least know them in some way. And to wanting to try to do something for the city isn't a bad thing. Seems to me that everyone else around took it for granted."

"That file contains everything you need when going over to your brother, uncle and cousin, they're a paranoid bunch and usually stubborn to work with."

"Glad to know it must be a family trait because I can out stubborn a vampire," Bella said as she snatched the file and walked past him. "Coming Isaac?"

"Yeah… since you have no idea where you need to go," Isaac let out a breath and wanted to follow Bella out before Deaton stopped him. "What?"

"Are you going to see Scott while you're in town? Meet the new recruits?"

Bella turned around and glared at the vet. "He ain't got time for people who don't give a shit about him. Besides, we got plans of our own to tend to after my little family reunion."

"N-no, I told you, I likely need your family's help with you when the full moon arrives in a few days," Isaac said, shaking his head. "But definitely trying to avoid Scott, yes."

"Yeah, my brother and uncle, right?" she asked with a stupid look on her face. "Isn't that what family is supposed to be for? I'll just guilt them into playing a role. It'll be fine. No need to play with useless alphas and puppies."

Deaton sighed. "Isaac, what have you been telling her?"

"Nothing, just my experiences with them and my feelings," he replied as he pushed past Deaton and pulled Bella along with him. This had been a bad idea. Of course he was going to run into Scott in the few days that they were going to be in Beacon Hills. Scott would catch his scent, even though Isaac had pretty much learned how to mask it. No doubt Deaton would call Scott the moment he was out of earshot. He fucking hated Beacon Hills.

Once outside, he let go of Bella and tried to shake this feeling of loss of self. The experiences he had had in the past, he wouldn't be good to anyone this way. He had believed he had worked through all of his issues while he was in France, but apparently they hadn't. And yes, he was older now. He should know better than to freak out over things and let it all go, because just as he was older, so were the others and _maybe_ they'd feel bad about ignoring him. "So uh… how does it feel to be 5 years older than you believed you were?" He asked as he climbed into the truck.

"It makes a lot of sense now, but it's still not fair, I've basically missed years of my life, experiences," Bella replied as she got into the truck as well, but stopped him from starting the truck by placing her hand on his arm. "What happened in there?"

"It's one thing to know that people you know from your past are fucking idiots and another to find out that the one person you should be able to trust has been fucking with someone's life in a major way."

"I don't blame him, or Charlie," Bella replied as she gently rubbed her thumb over his arm. "It's a bit short-sighted, sure, but they clearly weren't happy about it. They were merely fulfilling a promise they made to someone they both loved, trusted and respected. And she's dead. So, unless you have found a way to travel back in time, there's nothing we can do but to find some sort of peace in all of this. It sucks balls, yes. But what's happened, happened and all we can do now is look to the future. Since that's in my own hands now, isn't it? You saved me from the Cold Ones _and_ uncovered my secret life and now it's on me to take care of myself for the rest of my life."

"Still, doesn't stop me from wanting to beat Deaton up for you," he eventually said. "He shouldn't have agreed to it. As Talia's emissary, he shouldn't have agreed to it. You would have been safer."

"Again, you can't change the past. We need to look forward and I think it's brave of you to even want to stay here longer so that I can get the help that I need when that full moon hits," she was still rubbing his arm with her thumb. "The past is the past, Isaac. Everyone's gotten older, and hopefully wiser. Jesus fuck, I became five years older in a span of five minutes. No more slouching, okay? I saw what you did in there, you tried to disappear and that's not healthy. Show them that you've become better, stronger. That's the best revenge you can have on them by showing that you're not bothered."

"You don't know-"

"I don't have to. The past is the past. From what I can tell you're pretty good at moving forward and that your issues are tied to this town. This is just any other town," she smiled at him. "Stop hiding."

He shook his head. Peptalks never worked on him much, and she was thinking about all of this way too easy. "Sure. You want us to find a place to stay first, freshen up, before we go to Derek and Peter?"

"Nah, let's go to them first and then find a hotel," she sighed, nodding. "Get this over with."

"Okay," Isaac started the car and drove off the parking lot. He took Circle Street to drive passed Beacon Hills College and then crossed the bridge to head back into the warehouse district to go to Derek's loft. Again, a recent scent of Argent mixed with the scent of Mrs. McCall was found on the parking lot, but an even more recent one of Scott. And Scott's bike was right there. "Ah, let's uh, wait for a bit," he said as he got into the back of the truck and grabbed some more leftovers and poured them another mug of coffee, as the pot was still somewhat fresh. Peptalk or not, he wanted to avoid Scott.

"Maybe this is an opportunity to tell Scott how you really feel about him? That you're angry because he didn't reach out to you in the years you've been gone?"

"Oh, I'm not going to seek him out. Let's wait until he leaves."

"Well," Bella took a sip of her coffee before putting it down again. "I hate waiting, let's just go."

Before Isaac could object, Bella was already out of the truck and heading to the entrance to the building. Letting out a groan, he set everything aside himself and followed her. "You're crazy."

Bella huffed. "I'm not scared by the premise of meeting a few bullies and someone who doesn't look after his friends - a pack member, after everything he'd been through. You can always decide to stay in the truck, but I'm going."

"And you're not going alone."

Bella smirked then as she opened the door. "See, this is why I'd love to stick around with you for a while, the future could be very interesting."

The scents got stronger as they climbed the stairs to the floor where Derek lived and Isaac could feel a knot forming in his stomach. But, he decided to keep going anyway. Bella seemed to be wanting the one to run the show, so he was simply there in case something went wrong. For her.

"Is this it?" Bella asked as she pointed at the closed rolling door and Isaac nodded. Seeing no doorbell, she decided to bang on the door. "Hello? Anybody home?"

The door opened in one fell swoop, revealing Derek, who looked at Bella first with a puzzled look on his face, before noticing Isaac. "Welcome back, Isaac," he said, a small smile on his face. "How was France? Who's your friend? Argent didn't say you were bringing someone."

"This is Bella Swan, I'm here because of her."

"Swan? As in Charlie Swan?" Peter's voice sounded from back inside. "Are you kidding me?" He pushed his nephew to the side and looked at Bella. "Fuck me, you are Charlie Swan's daughter," he said breathlessly as he looked at her. "You look just like him, just far more aesthetically pleasing."

"How do you know my dad?" Bella asked as she pushed past the two werewolves to enter the apartment, not really wanting to have this conversation outside. The loft was spacious. Far too spacious, not enough walls and definitely under utilized.

"He and my sister were classmates, he came over to the house a lot for _homework_ ," Peter replied as he watched the girl. "Of course I know him. I always believed he was uh… Derek's father."

Isaac got inside and closed the door before leaning against it. Really? Derek Hale was the full brother of Bella? Oh man. He tiredly rubbed his face as he watched the people in front of him. He had already clocked Scott to be at the window, cautiously observing the people too, not sure what was going on.

"Cool, here I thought finding a half brother and an uncle, but it turns out you're my full brother," Bella said as she handed the file to Derek. "I've only known this for about a day, didn't want to believe it and it was confirmed by your emissary Deaton. My dad's going to be pissed though, he thought it was just me all these years."

Derek looked at Isaac with an incredulous look on his face. "Is this a joke? You came back to Beacon Hills and you decided to pull a prank on us? Seriously?"

"I wish it was," he replied with a sigh. "But I have no reason to return to Beacon Hills, so why would I prank you? She thought it was a prank at first too, until there were more details and facts resurfacing."

"No reason? What about us?" Scott asked out loud, taking a few steps towards everyone. "We're still here, Isaac. We're still your friends."

"We're here because of _her_ , leave me out of it," he countered, pushing one of his hands inside his pocket and balled it into a fist.

Peter had snatched the file from Derek's hands and was reading it. "You were born in september 1997… Yeah, of course, makes sense. Talia was in South America a lot during that time, trying to establish a dialogue between the wolves and the Calaveras. She failed, of course. But of course she would have failed at it if she spent most of her time in Forks instead."

"You're not surprised, at all?" Derek asked flabbergasted.

"Nah. Talia likely had a vision or had someone predict the future for her and she saw that most of her family would perish," Peter absentmindedly waved his hand around, dismissing his sister's silly ideas. "Always making sure there was a backup somewhere. It makes sense she had a backup Hale. She couldn't bear the thought that her bloodline would die out and have the Alpha spark jump to my line."

"Why did you bring her here, Isaac?" Derek asked him. "Have you lost your mind completely? Beacon Hills is the last place to be completely safe from the hunters! Especially if my mother wanted to keep her away from all of this!"

"We came here for answers, and you all deserve to get to know each other. We're fine, don't worry about it," Isaac replied, thankful for the wall to give him the support that he needed as not to automatically slouch. Bella didn't want him to do that.

"And I am right here!" Bella said angrily.

"I'm going to kill Deaton," Peter muttered. "He has you on wolf lichen?"

"Had. He had me on that shit and I thought it was because of my anger disorder," Bella said as she looked at him. "Isaac threw them out when we left Forks yesterday."

"You can't leave, not until you've had had your first full moon," he said as he handed the file back to Derek. "You're a werewolf and have never turned. At your age… things could prove to get interesting… and Isaac won't be equipped to deal with that."

"I think he would be," Bella said with a shrug. "But like yourself, he believes he's not," she then rubbed her hands together in glee. "You know what that means? We have the next few days to get to know each other!"


	7. Chapter 7

Once Isaac was certain that nobody was going to kill anyone, he decided to retreat to his truck to make them all lunch. He needed to get his mind back in order and cooking helped him a lot. He wasn't going to do anything fancy, mostly raid his leftovers and perhaps add some more sandwiches, but he simply needed to get out of there to take a breath.

Peter, Derek and Bella were talking about their lives and Isaac was surprised by how accepting the two Hales were over their new family member. How it made sense to them that Talia had had a trick up on her sleeve. Isaac could tell that Derek was on the fence, Peter was more outgoing and he was definitely up to something, but Bella wasn't in any danger, and it was safe to leave her alone with them for 30 minutes or so while he scraped himself together.

Because in a way, Bella had been right. The past was the past, he shouldn't allow it to hurt him still. But it did, it was one of the reasons why he preferred to be on his own, so he wouldn't get hurt again. Or used. There were good memories in Beacon Hills too. Like how his father used to take him and his brother to the forest to play catch or run for miles on end. Or that one time where they all went to the ice rink when Isaac was still very young and he was being sled around by his mother.

It was hard to think of the good stuff when so many bad things had happened too. Like being electrocuted because Stiles had been taken over by a Nogitsune. Like being stabbed. A lot. Or electrocuted by Argent because Argent didn't want him and Allison to get hurt. Or when the twins got to him and stole his memories, beat him up. When his dad locked him in the freezer. Or threw shit at him.

He was thrown out of his dreams when his truck moved and Scott stood inside the truck at the door. "The fuck, Scott? Ever heard of knocking?"

"You don't write, you don't call… and you look like shit."

"You ignored my messages and my emails, I've sent you plenty over the years I was in France," Isaac retorted, feeling his anger bubble up again. "You abandoned me. Just like everyone else. Like Derek and Argent. You abandoned me."

"I was busy!" Scott defended himself and his actions. "Come on, Isaac, it's been years. We can really use you here with all that's going on right now."

"Yeah, I've heard about the wars, Gerard is an idiot," Isaac replied bitterly. "Most of the French hunters are behind him last time I've heard. They're gaining more hunters every single day."

"That's why we need you, we're swamped here and thinly stretched."

He let out a dark chuckle. "No, thanks."

"Isaac, come on," Scott smiled at him, placing his hand on his arm. "It'll be like old times."

Isaac let out a low growl then, before grabbing Scott by the side of his head and knocked him into the counter before throwing him out of the truck. His rage now taking over, he leapt after his former Alpha and started to hit him, each punch landing where Isaac wanted them to hit, moving when Scott did. Isaac had always been faster than him, and he still was, now backed with some hunter training. He should have gotten the electricity stick from underneath the sink, that would have been great to use on Scott.

He saw Scott's eyes flash red and heard something in the background, but Isaac kept hitting him until he was pulled off of him by Derek and smacked into the truck, denting it as Derek kept him there, but Isaac was struggling to get out of his hold. He wasn't done yet. "Well, one thing's for certain, he's definitely not one of your pack anymore," Derek quipped as he looked at Scott. "In fact, I think he really doesn't like you anymore."

"Let go of me!" Isaac growled.

"Calm down," Derek said kindly as he looked over to Scott before looking back at Isaac. "You've had your fun, now calm down."

"Let me go," he said with a slight yelp as Derek smacked him against the truck again.

Bella looked at what was unfolding in front of her. Seeing Isaac going nuts on Scott had been… perversely enjoyable. Derek wasn't doing a good job at calming Isaac down; you simply couldn't solve violence with violence. She hesitated for only a moment before she stood in front of Isaac and placed her hands on his chest. "Hey, look at me," she said kindly as she looked at his wolfed-out face. "Isaac, look at me," she said again, gently pushing against his chest before he finally looked at her. "Take a deep breath and calm down." Oh, she knew that he could easily tear her to shreds, but she trusted him not to do that. "That's it," she smiled at him, reaching out to his cheek and cupped it. "Calm down."

When Isaac was calmed down enough, Derek stepped away, and Bella turned around to confront Scott, who was still on the floor, his face bleeding and covered in cuts and bruises. She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him to his feet before she pulled back her fist and launched it into his face, sending him flying for a couple of meters. "Oh, that was so cool," Bella said breathlessly as she looked at her knuckles, flexed her fingers and was surprised that it didn't even hurt that bad.

"And that shouldn't have been remotely possible already," Peter said, his voice clearly showing signs of concern. "You've only stopped taking the poison for one day?"

"Well, I might have forgotten to take it a couple of days because my future in-laws were stressing me out… and of course there was the whole wedding planning… so I've been off of it for a couple of days already with two nights ago the first dose again," Bella said as a matter of factly as she walked back over to Isaac and started to check him over to see if Scott had hurt him.

"Wedding?" Derek and Peter chorused incredulously. "Wait, what? To the Cold One?" Peter added after remembering what she had told them while Isaac was in his truck. "Don't tell me you fell for their charms."

"Do I need to remind you that the pills made me mostly human?" Bella retorted angrily. "I am well aware that if it hadn't been for Isaac and his friend Peter I would have been dead the second Edward would have tried to turn me."

"He's not my friend," Isaac murmured.

"In any case, Isaac and I are leaving. We'll be back tomorrow," she said as she got inside the truck, put the plate of sandwiches that Isaac had been preparing out on the ground before getting in the passenger seat. Isaac closed the doors and sat down next to her and quietly drove off. It was the middle of the day, but Bella needed some time to clear her head, trying to remember all that she had learned and experienced in the past 24 hours and decompress. "Is there like a luxury hotel in this town? You know, with a jacuzzi or something?"

"There's a small resort at the lake. I've never been there, but it's supposed to be really fancy."

"Good, we're going there," she said resolutely. "Your Peter will pick up the bill, right?"

Considering Isaac had been living out of his truck, showered at gas stations or gyms, Peter would be happy to pick up the bill seeing as he'd been nagging Isaac from the start. ' _I shouldn't have given you a comfy food truck, any old regular truck would have done if that meant getting you into a hotel and get the rest you need'_. "It'll be fine," he smiled at her and pointed at the dashboard. "His credit card is in there."

"Ohh," Bella said as she opened the lid and was surprised that it looked absolutely organized. There were even little shelves built in the little cubbyhole. "Did you do this?"

"Yeah, it's easier to grab things this way because I know where it is. Upper left corner."

She also noticed a wad of cash in another compartment. "Isn't cash easier?"

He let out a chuckle. "I thought you wanted Peter to pay for it? That's a bit of my money, from what I've earned with the truck, well… a part of it. I mean, I'm not crazy enough to drive around with a lot of cash but yeah."

"The truck is not just a ruse?"

"The truck is my main source of income, in fact, Peter called me when I was on a food festival in Florida last week telling me to make my way up to Forks as soon as I possibly could," Isaac replied with half a shrug. "So I did. But he usually only calls me when he can't do it himself due to his… physical handicap in the sun. And I'd have to be close. But for some reason he pulled me all the way out of Florida. Just for you."

"Don't I feel special," she laughed as she looked out of the window while they passed some trees, making her believe it was the forest. "I still can't believe I was able to punch Scott that hard and pull him to his feet like that."

He was more concerned about how she had been able to calm him down like she had. He no longer heard Scott, but she about managed to calm him instantly. There was no way that he was going to allow someone to have that effect on him again. He was fine on his own and he'd be happy to have her as company, but there was no way that he wanted to be in a pack again. Not now, maybe in the future. God forbid she was a freaking Alpha already.

He wouldn't automatically be in her pack, a bond like that had to grow, but what if it already had? There had been plenty of examples in the past that something like this happened; two lone wolves creating their own pack. The strongest one growing into an Alpha, earning the spark and both becoming stronger by forming their own pack.

Or was he that deprived of female attention that he'd do just about anything?

No, he needed sleep. That was all.

He turned into a small road that gave access to the resort and suddenly wondered if they'd let his truck on the parking lot. Speaking of his truck, he needed to inspect it for an Isaac-sized dent, Derek did smack him a little. His truck needed to be pristine. Undented. He needed to make room for Bella's clothes and belongings if she was going to stick around, the bags were fine, for now, but they were going to be a nightmare later. She deserved her own space to place her things. So many things he needed to do.

The receptionist looked at them as if they were severely out of place asking for rooms, but upon seeing the Centurion Card, she was more than willing to give them two adjoining rooms, with a door in the middle so they could get into each other's rooms without having to cross the hallway if they so desired. She also encouraged Bella to make use of the spa and indoor pool, like any good receptionist would do.

Isaac carried their bags as they were shown their rooms and handed Bella hers. "If you need anything, to talk or to cry or whatever…"

Bella smirked. "Sex?" Oh, how Isaac's face flushed was adorable. "Just kidding," she laughed. "Go rest, I'll keep myself entertained. Might even do some research on my own."

He sheepishly nodded before getting into his room, threw his bag into a corner and walked to the king size bed that looked way too appealing and dropped himself onto it. Within five minutes, he was fast asleep.

Bella sighed as she looked around in the room. It was super fancy. Everything was nicely decorated, the bed looked very comfortable and the bathroom was big enough to hold a dance recital in. The bathtub was a whirlpool and that's the first thing she did. She filled up the bath, choose one of the very expensive bath bombs that were on the side of the bath, undressed herself and got into the bath, drawing out a very long, happy sigh. This was heaven.

She was alone. No Cold Ones listening in from somewhere in the building, no need to hurry things up. Just her and her thoughts. And there were so many. Why was it easy to accept that she was a werewolf and had a family? A full brother at that? Likely for the same reason why she wanted to be turned into a vampire the moment Edward told her that he was one; as a human she had always felt out of place. Out of step. And now she knew why; she hadn't been living her full potential.

It was a whole new world for her, and she was ready for it. Oh, of course, she knew that she was likely going to see a lot of violence from now on, with the whole war between the supernatural and the hunters, but she also knew that she could make a difference. With Isaac, and the help of Peter. They could make a difference. Continue to help those who can't help themselves. And in their downtime, help Isaac with his food truck. She may not be a trained chef, but she could cook. Especially fish or venison on a barbecue or grill.

Freedom. She was free. And she was a werewolf. This was both scary and awesome. She'd never been able to pick up someone as big as Scott before, not to mention to make him fly and have him end up meters away. It felt great. Powerful. Would she be able to take on a Cold One if she had to? Isaac had had a few fights with them and he survived, but would she be able to do so?

And how big was this supernatural world, anyway? She was going to have to ask Isaac for more information. For him to teach her. She wanted it all. Yes. Letting out a giggle, she closed her eyes and relaxed some more. She had always felt wise beyond her years and now it turned out that she was, in fact, 5 years older because Charlie had put her in the supernatural witness protection thing.

When the water was sufficiently cooled off, she got out of the bath, wrapped herself in a fluffy towel and headed to her bag to find some clean clothes. She then flopped onto the bed and turned on her television before grabbing her laptop and decided to do her research, much like how she'd figured out that Edward had been a vampire. Granted, the information may not be entirely accurate, but it'd give her a head start. Maybe she could do some research on Beacon Hills. Yes. That was a better idea.

One of the first images that popped up on an image search was an image of a man, a girl and a woman, likely a family, on a graveyard. Clicking on it, she saw the name Argent and the article accompanying it. It was the funeral of Kate Argent, sister of Chris Argent, aunt of Allison Argent. The girl - Allison - was beautiful. Her mother looked like an absolute wench and her father looked kind, warm. Something in his eyes.

Another picture she found was of the Lacrosse Team from 2012 who someone plastered on facebook. She recognized Scott, and Isaac. They both looked so young, it was only 8 years ago but they looked like babies. Literal babies. Well defined babies. So Isaac had still been in Beacon Hills in 2012. She expanded her search to include 2011, 2012 and 2013 and was hit by articles about strange occurrences. Deaths. People missing. People returning. Arrests. Strange lights. The years following weren't better, but how could one small town be at the center of all of this darkness?

And Isaac had lived through it, aside from his own personal problems? Jesus fuck. No wonder he hadn't liked coming back here.

She kept reading for hours until she started to feel uneasy. Fear. Cramped. Cold, but she had no reason to feel this way. Bella had felt intense anger coming from Isaac when they were at Derek's, but this was… different. Like she was in a fog. When she heard a yell and whimpering come out of Isaac's room, she stumbled to the door, nearly tripping over her feet in her mind fog, and headed inside his room.

Isaac was turning in his bed, sweating, not comfortable at all in his slumber. She crawled onto the bed and gently shook him awake. "Isaac, wake up. You're having a nightmare," she said as she kept shaking him. "Wake up."

His eyes shot open, looked at her before scrambling off the bed and hitting the wall as he sat up. He looked so confused for a moment before realizing what was going on. "Bella," he said as he took a few deep breaths. "Are you okay?"

"Are you?" She asked him as she looked at him from her position on his bed. "Do you get nightmares often?"

He ran a hand through his hair as he blinked at her. "Not often, only when triggered by something… I'm sorry- if I woke you."

"You didn't wake me," she held out her hand to him to pull him back onto the bed. "I was doing some research and I felt strange, then I found out it was you," she smiled at him as he took her hand and got back onto the bed. "It's nearly time for dinner, you didn't sleep for that long."

"Long enough," he said as he sat on his bed. "What were you researching?"

"Beacon Hills, mainly around ten years ago… was about to look for stuff on the time that the Hale house got lit on fire before I needed to come to you," she smiled and gently squeezed his hand. "Is your life always this… crazy?"

He wished she hadn't, but he couldn't stop her from doing research. It was only natural to look things up. "It's dangerous," he sighed, slowly nodding. "And crazy. Definitely crazy. I'm not sure if it'll get better when we're going to Virginia, but yeah, you always have to expect the unexpected to keep you on your toes. But I'll do everything I can to keep you safe, I promise," he said, a yawn escaping his lips.

"I'll have your back too."

"Good," he then realized that he felt sticky and dirty and she was clean as freshly washed clothes. "How about I take a shower and we go for dinner in the restaurant?"

"Sounds great," Bella watched him get off the bed, stumbling a little before grabbing his bag and taking it with him into the bathroom. Bella headed back to her own room and continued to get ready. Shoes. Hair. Likely hair tie. Would be sufficient, wouldn't it? It was likely that Isaac was suffering from PTSD and never received the right help, but she couldn't be sure. She needed more information, she needed to get to know him better. And after only a day and a half, she didn't know him at all, but she wasn't going to pry, either.


	8. Chapter 8

Over the last few days, Bella only spent a couple of hours a day with her new family. She wanted nothing more than to get to know them, but on day three she saw the cracks appear in Peter's happy façade - he wanted something from her. Isaac had already warned her that he was an opportunist.

When she was with Isaac, they took walks in the woods around the resort, careful not to go out at night incase of hunters and other supernatural creatures. He slowly informed her about the broader sense of the supernatural, about the other kind of vampires he'd run into, for example. And witches. After making sure his truck was still in top shape, he showed her how he had made some room for her in cupboards while she was with Peter and Derek, and he also showed her where the weapons were hidden.

"But why do you have weapons? You're a werewolf!" Bella had laughed as she saw his small arsenal of guns, stun guns and even an electricity rod. "Don't you have claws? Super strength?"

"Yeah, but what part of trying to live as human as possible for safety reasons don't you understand?" He had countered and she knew he was right. Of course he was right. Fighting the good fight but hiding who you were. Not being able to be who you were.

"Have you tried talking to the hunters, you know… a cease fire, the supernaturals are people too?"

"We live in the day and age that everyone thinks that they're entitled. Better. That violence solves everything and that fear is a healthy motivator. Revenge. Special snowflakes," he had told her. "It's because of what happened here in the past, in Beacon Hills, and also other supernatural hotspots, that sent people over the edge because yes, there have been deaths on both sides. Blood spilled. But instead of allowing us to keep ourselves in check, they meddle with our affairs while the human population has their fair share of criminals and idiots too. Do I like keeping the wolf in check? No. Does it come out to play? Sure. But you can't reason with idiots. The best we can do is to make sure that we can help where we can help."

After that likely unintended lecture, she had shut up. She was all new to this, and there was no doubt that a lot of parties had tried to strike a deal with the hunters. Even Derek and Peter agreed with Isaac when she told them what Isaac had told her. The humans were scared, and scared or trapped animals would always try to do the impossible to make sure they're safe, which included recruiting others. The supernaturals were the target now, and in a few years they'd find something else to be scared about and would direct their focus mainly on that. _There was no reasoning with those who were terrified or looking for revenge_.

This was a different world, different rules.

It was the day of the full moon and boy, did she feel the effects. Her anger was back in full force, she wanted to punch someone and have sex. She wanted to tear someone's throat out for simply looking at her the wrong way and have sex. It was like PMS on steroids, and she'd only felt like this a handful of times before; usually when she had forgotten to take her pills and she'd been at the reservation. Jake usually kept her distracted with Seth and Leah or working on an engine, but now that she was completely _clean_ , it was worse. Waking up had been a bitch, especially seeing as the first thing she did was to stumble into Isaac's room through their shared door and waking him up with her pacing. She had been selfish and had woken him up, because he made her feel calm anyway.

They were now waiting for breakfast, room service, and she could feel Isaac's eyes on her as she kept pacing. "How do I control this shit? It's so hard to focus!"

"Uh… Yeah, usually it's not that bad during the day unless it's a super moon. You're likely catching up from years and years of not turning," he said as he still watched her cautiously. "And this is why we need Peter and Derek's help. Like you, they were born a werewolf, the control mechanisms are slightly different. Easier, even."

"Fix me. Now," she stopped pacing and pinned him down with her stare. "This is intolerable. I wasn't expecting this! How do you keep control?!"

"All wolves have some sort of ah… an anchor. It could be anything; a memory, an object, person, phrase… anything that reminds you of your humanity, so you can keep control. Derek and Peter use the Hale family's mantra, I believe. You're a born werewolf, it should be easier for you to gain control than it was for me."

"What's your anchor?"

Isaac shrugged. "In the beginning it was the memory of my dad, before he couldn't cope with my mom and brother's death. I'm not sure now. Likely the fear of being found out and killed when I do lose it, I suppose."

"Well that's bleak."

"Anything that works. As I said before, my first shift happened when I was in a prison cell and nearly killed someone, the second shift was easier to deal with, to learn control. Sometimes, it just clicks," he said as he got to his feet. "A cold shower could help, too. Use mine, I'll go get your clothes from your room."

Bella blinked at him, confused for a moment before looking down on herself and found out that she was completely naked. Of course, she'd stumbled out of bed, and right into his room. She hadn't stopped to actually… "Why didn't you say something before?" She wasn't shy about her body, not at all, but he should have said something instead of oogling her. Oh, she wanted to punch him so bad now.

"Because," he said calmly as he pointed towards his shower. "You're upset and I was just waking up and thought I was dreaming for a moment before realizing that you were actually in my room, naked." Isaac's face flushed beet red then, realizing that she was indeed naked, and now feeling weird about it. "Sorry. You're right. I should have said something or at least had given you my t-shirt."

She stopped in the doorway of the shower, turning to him. He looked adorable, and had he been anyone else, she'd likely had jumped him for some sex, but this was Isaac. Her Isaac, and she didn't want to take advantage of him. "Did you at least like what you see?"

"Yes," he said with a slight yelp before going to Bella's room and finding her clothes.

Good, he wasn't a monk then and likely not gay. "Are you sure cold showers work?"

"It'll distract you for a moment or two, but maybe it's a good idea if we'd go to Derek and Peter after breakfast… if you do get worse, you might hack and slash through this entire resort. We'll have to get you to a better environment."

"Oh come on, surely you're strong enough to handle me?" She asked with a slight giggle, still standing in the doorway, waiting for him to return. "What if I want _you_ to distract me? Sexually?" She asked as he walked in, resulting in a dumbfounded look on his face. "Do you think that will work?"

"We're not going to have sex while you're not in your right mind," Isaac said eventually before pointing to the shower. "Cold shower. Now."

Bella pouted before doing what she was told, and she didn't quite like the sensation of the cold water cooling her off, but it did help somewhat, to clear her mind. When she felt cold enough, and settled again, she turned off the shower and found her clothes neatly stacked on the counter next to the towels. She had heard room service coming in, and she could smell the food, she needed to hurry.

No wait. No need to hurry. She could take her time. Nice and slow. Breathe. She was shivering, but she could feel how her body was warming up easily, it was unlikely that she was going to stay cold for a long time. She had started to feel that a few days before, she wasn't cold at night while she was usually cold all the time.

Bella was curious now what Isaac's other plans of distractions were. It wasn't as if she could take a cold shower all day long! Oh, but she could! But that would be cold.

Pulling her hair back in a tail, she emerged from the bathroom and Isaac had put all of the breakfast on the table. There was _a lot_ of food, and Bella didn't care, she was hungry. So hungry. "You spoil me too much," she said as she sat down opposite of him and dug in. There were sandwiches, eggs in all forms, dinner rolls, even soup! And, most importantly, coffee.

"I'm not paying for it, so," he shrugged, quite peckish himself. Isaac was happy that she had decided to put on the clothes. While his control was firmly in place because he had been a werewolf for longer, she did have a gorgeous body. One that he'd wanted for himself, completely. But he couldn't. He shouldn't. He was fine alone, and she was only going to tag along for a short period of time. No good to get attached this quick. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, thank you," she replied with a sigh as she took a sip of her coffee. "Is this going to be like this all day?"

"Yep. Will be worse when the moon actually comes up, so you'd better start thinking about something to hold on to," Isaac took a bite out of his sandwich.

A sudden burst of anger washed over her. "What if I can't?!"

"Then we'll try again on the next full moon."

"Okay, fine. But what happens if I can't find it today? Am I going to hurt you? I don't want that to happen. Will I know what I'm doing?"

"No," he shook his head. "We need to remain in control of our humanity. When the beast takes over, we become the beast. Think of the fight or flight concept without the flight. Seeing red. Blacking out. That sort of thing. So usually, new wolves are being chained up for the first few shifts. If they're lucky, their Alpha will be close by. Seeing as you're a born wolf, your family will be close by. We can chain you up when needed. And if all fails, we'll likely have to call Scott, but I doubt it'll come to that."

"Chains?" Bella's eyes sparkled as she looked at him. "Kinky!"

"It's a very unpleasant experience to look at, so I'd rather have you not go through that, at all. So anything that makes you feel like yourself, is good. Anything that angers you, is not."

She huffed then. "Can we go for a long walk, then? I don't see myself being cooped up in Derek's apartment for the rest of the day and the night and be bored out of my skull."

"The hunters take advantage of the full moon and on the day itself, it's basically open season was it's harder for us to conceal who we are," Isaac let out a snort. "But, we could drive our truck to Derek's loft, and then stay in the truck for as long as we can… cooking up a storm, since lots of the fresh stuff that I bought prior coming to Forks is on its way out. Would be a shame if we didn't get to eat it all."

Her eyes grew big. She loved cooking, and she had always found it a shame that Charlie was always so specific with what he liked and disliked. Her palate was broader than that of her father. "Cooking? You and I?"

"Yep, you can show me what you've got!"

"Can we go fishing first, too?" Bella asked hopeful. "That's the most human experience you can have."

"Maybe some other time."

"Right. Hunters. First full moon," she reminded herself as she took a bite out of her sandwich. "I could get us all killed… Question; what do you usually do during the full moon?"

"That is different, Bella. I've been a wolf for a few years now, I can control myself. You, have been a wolf all your life and that was subdued by meds. I- I don't want to risk you getting hurt or you hurting others."

"But what if I _can_ control myself? All I've heard is worse case scenario, but what if I _can_ control myself?" She reached out over the table and took his hand, gently squeezing it. "You might be too overly cautious. Relax."

"I'll relax tomorrow," Isaac said before withdrawing his hand from hers and finished eating his sandwich before heading to the bathroom with some clean clothes to freshen up. He hadn't bothered to get out of his clothes last night, just in case.

"You know," Bella said as she followed him to the bathroom, sandwich in hand. "Your thing to keep your humanity in control, right, the knowledge that if you don't, you'll get caught and hunted? That's out of fear," she pointed out. "How can you hold on to your humanity through fear? Wouldn't that make you even more scared? Wouldn't… I don't know, cute puppies be a better way of making sure your humanity stays in control? Isn't the full moon something not to be fearful of but to be celebrated?"

He finished splashing water in his face and put a clean t-shirt on. She was starting to get on his nerves; he needed to get them to Peter and Derek so that she could ask her questions to them, they had more experience, they were all Hales and he could take a breather. "Bella."

"Isaac," she replied in the same tone of voice as he'd used. "This is all new to me. How can I understand things when you reply 'it just is' or something along the lines of that? Make me understand, because I don't understand why fear would stop you from changing and losing control. If anything, I'd choose something happy."

"Then choose something happy," he replied, wanting to get out of the bathroom but she was blocking his exit. "It's something that anchors you to your humanity. It's a personal thing."

She rolled her eyes at him. She didn't like the way that he was now, what Beacon Hills made him to be, and she sure as hell didn't like his answers. She wanted to know details. How else was she supposed to learn? Thinking about his behaviour and what he had told her in the last few days, she figured that he was afraid because he was alone. That he had been alone for a long time and that he trusted no one. Her, maybe, but she wasn't even sure about that. Bella didn't need to be a werewolf to know that pack animals without a pack were easy targets which made them cautious, afraid, and paranoid. Bella held up her hand. "Give me your phone."

"Why?"

"Because I threw mine out and I'd like to make a phone call," she replied as a matter of factly. "There's only one person who can know for sure before it happens if something bad happens. Well, two, but I like the first one better, and I'm going to call him, to ease both of our minds."

"You're going to cheat?"

Bella shrugged. "I hate waiting. You're obviously anxious about my first turn and you've been distancing yourself from me for the last few days. I don't like it. So, give me your phone."

"No."

"Oh come on, if he says we're safe, we can leave Beacon Hills and you can get back to being your usual self because frankly, this you sucks. No wonder you're alone when you keep trying to push people away when they are getting too close, because that's the whole thing, isn't it? I'm getting too close to you already in your opinion," Bella snapped at him as she kept standing in his way, feeling anger burn underneath her skin. She didn't want to hurt Isaac, this was a different kind of anger, one she hadn't felt before. "And maybe that's stupid of me, but my life got turned upside down because of your and Peter's interference so yeah, you're stuck with me because I actually kinda like you as a person. So. Hand me the fucking phone so I can call him!"

Isaac blinked when her eyes flashed red for only a moment and he couldn't help but hand her the phone and backing off, nearly falling into the sink as he lost his balance over the bathroom mat. Her intent was underneath his skin, she wasn't angry with him, she cared. Deeply. And it showed. He had no other choice but to accept it. Accept _her_. And he wanted to. But he wasn't going to, he was going to refuse. He wasn't going to be a beta.

She cocked her head as she watched his reaction. Concern rising inside her chest, she hadn't spooked him, had she? "What's going on?"

Yeah, she was in control now, but would she be when the moon was actually out? "Uh… Call Peter, ask him what you want and uh…" Oh, his brain was scrambled, calmer. _Fucking Alpha's_ , he thought. "You're definitely an Alpha. I'll be more prepared for that next time."

"I am?" Bella asked brightly. "Cool! But uh… you're not my beta, are you? Because those things should happen naturally, right? Unless I was the Alpha that bit you?"

"Yep, but it doesn't mean that you don't have an effect on me," he said as he turned around to take a sip of water. "Call Peter, and let's finish breakfast."

"I didn't hurt you or spook you, did I?" Bella asked worried, stepping away from the door.

"Nah," he turned around to smile at her. "Merely caught me off guard, but I do think that you should have a chat with Peter and Derek about your power as an Alpha."

"Fuck that, if Peter tells me I'm staying in control all day, we're leaving and we'll figure this thing out together," Bella said as she made her way back into the room to the table with food while she scrolled to Isaac's contacts phone. It was heartbreakingly empty. It only had Argent's phone number and that of Peter, and what looked like suppliers of food. Sighing, she pushed on Peter's name and put it on speaker so that Isaac could hear as well.

" _How's it goin'?"_

"Well, I haven't had the urge to claw his throat out," Bella replied as she pushed a piece of bread into her mouth. "I do wish to do other things with him but I'm a good girl."

" _I didn't need to hear that,"_ Peter audibly sighed. Bella imagined him facepalming. " _But glad to hear you're both doing good. How's Beacon Hills?"_

"Can we cut the small talk? I have one question for you."

" _You sure you want to do that, darlin'? I know that Isaac isn't a big fan of cheating."_

"I'm right here," Isaac said as he sat down at the table and started to eat the soup. "She's impatient, that's all."

"Yeah, will I stay in control all day and night or what?"

" _I honestly believed you two were on your way to Virginia already, seeing as Isaac has an appointment with the sheriff in four days. It's a two day drive, and you do need your rest. So…"_

"That's not an answer, Peter."

" _Yes it is. It's safe for you to travel out of Beacon Hills, but it's also my recommendation that you do talk to your family about being an Alpha, seeing as Isaac can only tell you the effects of it, and your family knows the power it holds."_

"You knew! You already fucking knew and you didn't say anything!" Bella fumed. "Why didn't you say anything?!"

Isaac put his hand over her hand that had spawned her claws. "Breathe."

" _Because there are things you need to find out for yourself. That's life, Bella. It should be a surprise. You should enjoy every moment you have, and take life as it comes."_

Bella let out a growl and disconnected the call before looking at Isaac. "Fine, after we've finished breakfast, we're going to Derek to talk about this Alpha power and then leave."

Isaac was glad that Peter confirmed Bella's feelings, but he still wasn't completely at ease with the idea of driving around with an Alpha werewolf who was going to experience her first full moon as a free wolf. On the other hand, maybe he had become too cautious over the years. "Okay, you go talk with Derek and I will clean out the truck and stock it up with some fresh food."

"You're not coming with me?"

"I'll be downstairs. Cleaning out the truck."

"I want you with me. We can clean out the truck together," she smiled at him. "Please?"

He sighed and nodded. "Fine."


	9. Chapter 9

_With great power comes great responsibility. Don't leave, we need you here. Do you have any idea the power that you're holding? You can start your own pack, fight the good fight. Join us here. You're no match to Isaac, he won't be able to stop you once you go off. You have the power to do something great, or something stupid. He's an idiot!_

"But he's _my_ idiot!" Bella had responded angrily, temper flaring up, she could feel it extend to her extremities and both Peter and Derek blinked at her, visibly shaken. "Stop pulling other people down to make yourself feel better. Or appear better. You're telling me nothing new, we're leaving town. Now."

And at that point, Isaac had been glad to be behind her, not needing to deal with the raw Alpha werewolf standing in the middle of the loft. Peter and Derek both had felt her power, she hadn't shifted, even, and she was so powerful. There was no doubt that Peter would want to have it all to himself. Again. But Bella wouldn't allow herself to be played. And that was a good thing.

They emptied the food in a large container near the animal clinic and did a quick shop in Walmart before leaving town, there were far too many people with guns walking out in broad daylight, and it was best to be on the move. Isaac decided to keep driving until they were somewhere in Nevada where it was isolated and no people around to wait out the night. It was at a small lake with a lot of fish in them, so Bella got to fish after all.

Okay, so Isaac was still slightly on edge because of her, but he had significantly mellowed out once they had put a significant distance between them and Beacon Hills. She liked this Isaac, and with him relaxed, she could relax. She still felt the effects of the impending full moon, of course, but it was less than it had been in Beacon Hills, and she kept herself distracted by cooking and singing along to the loud music that was playing from the radio.

She found it interesting that despite all the warnings, the angst and drama, she was able to stay human, it felt easy. Bella was having fun and doing what she liked. Even her other… _urges_ were being kind to her and stayed away. No, this was good. Having fun, letting go, was good. Now if only she could get Isaac in the same sort of mindset and everything would be even more fun.

But, for now, it was a party of one.

Maybe they had too much food for dinner, but it was likely that it wasn't even that much for the two of them. Her body was burning calories like a mother fucker and she was hungry. Very hungry. The fish tasted delicious and, when all the food was gone Isaac even threw some steaks on the grill to have more food. While the food was all gone, and had been delicious, she was curious to know what Isaac thought about it, since he was the chef and all. "So… what did you think of the food?"

"I liked it," he smiled at her. "It was really good, rustic."

"So you're telling me that it basically sucked."

"No!" Isaac blinked at her. "No! I honestly liked it! I mean… I had to go to chef school to even learn how to cook and I only know how to cook that way - chop everything finely, neatly, season right, make sure everything's perfect and here you are, making delicious fish without being…"

"Anal?" Bella smirked at him. "Obsessive? Don't you know that cooking should be fun, most of all? That when you cook from the heart, instead of your brain, that it tastes better automatically?"

"Yeah, it's what I've been told many times over when I was training…"

"But the exact measurements and following recipes to the letter did you some good for your anxiety, didn't it? But what if you followed everything to the letter and realized it didn't taste good? Would you go back and make it again with adjustments you made?"

"Of course," he said as he pulled the steaks off the fire. She was digging around in his brain, and he hated it. It was almost as if she knew him, really knew him. Like she saw right through him. "Why? You think my food is bad?"

"Oh no, it's delicious. It's something else, alright. I'd like to see you cook when you've loosened up a little though, I think you'll enjoy that a lot better too," she smiled as she gratefully took the perfectly cooked steak. "You really don't have to worry about me tonight, I'm feeling great and Peter has already confirmed that I'll be fine. You may not trust him on his word but I've had enough dealings with his kind and the gifts they have to know that he's freakishly accurate."

"Or, he could be merely saying what you want to hear," Isaac pointed out. "But we'll see."

"You're such a Debbie Downer," she let out a snort as she attacked her steak with her knife and fork. "I"ll change that. I'll show you that you _can_ trust people and that you're not alone anymore, even though I know you prefer to be alone, yes. You've told me that. Several times. But you know the saying, right? 'The lady protests too much'."

He rolled his eyes at her as he dug into his steak. "Let's just survive the night without getting caught. We're out in the open and should a hunter come by and shine a light in our eyes, we'll be in trouble and we'll have to fight that hunter."

"I know how a gun works," Bella said as she munched on the meat. "Daddy's a cop. I've learned how to shoot guns and rifles. Don't worry, I have your back. I've told you this before. Relax or I'll get the stun baton and make you relax."

When the sun set and the moon came up, Bella had the great idea to go swimming in the lake, and after making sure that Isaac didn't have his phone on him, she gave him a slight push into the water, as he continued to trip over his feet and face planting on the water's surface. She jumped after him and, after some persuasion, Isaac turned playful by splashing water at her or pulling her under. And she did the same. She was surprised by the amount of physical strength she had, even hurting Isaac when she was playing a little bit too rough, causing him to let out a yelp. He was fine, nothing that wouldn't heal soon, but she needed to make sure that didn't happen again. What if she accidentally hurt a human?

And he was sweet, didn't mind helping her get it somewhat under control for the rest of the night. He explained that it was mostly the full moon's doing, but that she was a lot stronger than a regular human when there wasn't a full moon. Not as bad as the Cold Ones though, so she was happy about that, but it was all about learning your own strength.

They even sparred a little with the moon high up in the sky. Isaac was careful with her and she tried to pull her punches too. She didn't have to worry about being breakable anymore, one punch would not break her hand or wrist. And if it did, it would heal. She felt the effect of the moon, but she was still human. She was distracted and she was with Isaac. What more did she want?

At 3 am she was exhausted, dried up from the swim earlier, but exhausted, and Isaac pulled out the beds in the truck so she could sleep. He even went to bed himself, but she was sure that he wasn't going to get the rest that he needed because he was still anxious. She felt it, but she also knew that it was going to be a slow process for him to trust her. To accept her and to accept that she wasn't going anywhere.

She woke up the next morning to the smell of coffee and bacon as Isaac was making them breakfast. "Ugh. What time is it?"

"Seven," he replied with a smile on his face. "I want to hit the road early, you can still doze off in the seat in front later if you so desire."

Bella huffed as she pushed her hair out of her face and got up from the bed to make her way outside with a toilet roll. When she returned, Isaac presented her with a bar of chocolate. "What's this?"

"To commend you on your first full moon and your strength and willpower for not turning," he replied. "And to apologize for not believing you, then not believing Peter and then still not believing you. You were right. You're stronger and more aware of your body and urges than anyone I've ever known. In fact, I don't think there's any documentation of what you've done last night, so, well done."

Bella let out a snort as she gratefully took the chocolate. "Apology accepted and thank you, I guess? After dinner, where will we be heading?"

"Ah, as far as we can get today. Now that the pressure is off of the full moon, we need to keep driving. I have a meeting with the sheriff in three days of the place Peter wants me to go next for things, and I want to get the lay of the land, a little."

"Fair enough," Bella said as she took her coffee. "What's in Virginia?"

"Another supernatural hotspot, one without a Nemeton - the tree thing - but a lot of magical history. They have a school for witches, but other than that, no protection at all. The school is well known amongst hunters, but they still have hearts and won't necessarily go after children."

"We're going to help the school?"

"In a way," Isaac nodded. "The town has its own supernatural pull and there have been sightings of werewolves and the other kind of vampires who were looking for protection, but the sheriff turned them all away, despite knowing about the danger they're in. The town just isn't equipped to deal with it. Now, Peter's idea was to open a Bed and Breakfast there, one with a restaurant, rooms… and some hidden areas."

"Oh, that's very interesting."

"And have friends of his dig tunnels 30 miles long, which will end up at a farm where people will be safe _and_ have multiple escape routes should evacuation be necessary."

"Yep, that's it," she nodded. "I'm definitely sticking around now. I've always wanted to run a B&B after watching Gilmore Girls. You need me, anyway."

"And you deserve to live your own life, Bella."

"Who says I'm not? I'm choosing to stay with you and do this thing. We'd do something good and I get to do I've always wanted. So I suppose the meeting with the sheriff is to give him a head's up? How well do you think that's going to go if he's refused so many supernaturals already?"

"Because we can actually help. We have the means, we sort of have the plans, Peter's still working on that."

"You're going to have to talk to the mayor, too."

"Yep, and organize a lot of things, so that's why I want to get there a bit earlier than expected so we can get an idea of how things work there." He then let out a snort. "I'm kinda afraid that he also wants to give me a home and has me stop moving around so much."

"What's so wrong about that? A lot of people stay in the same place for years on end. Build a life. You can't do that when you're on the road all the time."

"It works for me," he shrugged as he took a bite off of his bacon sandwich. "Ah well, if it doesn't work out, he'll find someone else for that project."

At least he was going to _try_. "Are we going to uhm… what's it called? Uhm…" she snapped her fingers as she was trying to remember. She had stumbled across a few mentions of a town in Virginia when she was doing her research on figuring out what Edward was, a town with the myths of vampires walking around and werewolves. "Mystic Church?"

"Falls," Isaac laughed. "Mystic Falls. Fell's Church is close by. How do you know about it?"

"I like history. And I tried to figure out what Edward was. It came up in the google search," she shrugged. "I always wanted to go there, don't they have like a cave system there? With drawings from the Vikings who came to settle in the States?"

"I don't know," Isaac laughed. "But it would be fun to find that out."

"And yes, it's another small town, but at least it's in a fucking warmer climate," she nodded. "This is going to be fun!"

~o.O.o~

They drove to Albuquerque where they stocked up and Bella took over the wheel, she'd slept some on the way over during the 11 hour drive, and now it was Isaac's turn to have a somewhat rest on the passenger seat after some food and Bella drove for another 8 hours before stopping outside Oklahoma City to prepare breakfast and have a nap herself. By the time she woke up again, Isaac was driving again.

He really wanted to get to Mystic Falls sooner. Yeah, they had another two days until his meeting, but it was still a close 24 hour drive. It felt like fleeing, but on the other hand, it also felt like running away to start a completely new life. Start all over. Yes, it was going to be difficult to start one in a small town where no doubt everyone knew each other, but challenges were there to be accepted. And Bella definitely accepted this challenge, even though the last week had been sheer madness. And exciting. Far more exciting than the previous few years and she was ready.

The entrance to Mystic Falls reminded her a little of Forks. One way. Trees. But warm and it had a real 'southern' look. Movie southern, perhaps. Not that it was fake, it just looked… _fake_. The town center looked destroyed, but they were trying to fix things up a little. "What happened here?" It was worse than destruction; it looked like a ghost town.

"Oh, a lot," Isaac let out a breath. "I'm not entirely sure on the details but rumor is that the devil himself came to town."

Bella let out a snort. "Seriously?"

He shrugged then. "Likely some very ancient person who was evil and what not, but yeah, the town was almost destroyed by then due to other supernatural causes as well."

It sounded as if Mystic Falls was the place to be for supernaturals. Like Beacon Hills, but without the Nemeton. This was confusing, weren't they going to save people who couldn't save themselves? "Then why are we-"

"Peter's idea. I don't know why, exactly, but this town has always been some sort of foothold. Humans and supernaturals living together peacefully, somewhat. And after everything that happened, the hunters, the history of this town, the only place that this town now has is that magic school. Protected by one vampire, a teacher and a different kind of hunter," he explained. "It's highly likely that the hunters that are hunting us right now have given up on this place because they know that everyone here is either dead or long gone."

"So we're going to hide among the humans, underneath the supernatural taint because the hunters rarely bother to come?"

"Exactly," he parked the truck on a parking lot just off the centre and sighed happily. "Finally. Want to go for a walk? Check things out?"

"Yes!" Bella smiled widely. "I've seen enough of this truck!" She excitedly grabbed her bag and hopped out, waiting for Isaac to be done securing everything and making sure that everything was locked up. "You know, we could have just flown here."

"I had suggested that, yes, but that was before I knew you were a werewolf who hadn't turned before, still think driving up here was the best course of action," he said as he joined her. "Although you have surprised me. Maybe we can practise on you turning at will and using your abilities tonight." Isaac hesitated then. "I doubt you need much practise seeing as you can already control yourself, but it'll do you some good to get a feel for it and try to control yourself when you do feel that surge of power. It can be quite overwhelming, but freeing in a way too."

"Whatever you think's best, Isaac," she smiled at him, looping her arm through his. "Now, let's see what this town is all about. Tomorrow is your date with the sheriff, right? How about we surprise him now? Best way to get a feel for people is to simply ambush them."

He let out a breath and nodded. "That's usually what I do, but this is per Peter's plan. He's the mastermind and what he says, goes. Besides, I think we both could use a good night's sleep before the meeting with the sheriff. Good food in a restaurant or something."

Bella huffed. "It's a Cold One."

"Ah, but I've tried going against him and his gift, and it went horribly," he barked out a laugh. "I can take care of myself but I made a mess that could have been avoided if I just had listened to him. Besides, what he has in mind for me to set up here, for us, is bigger than even Scott's little operation so yeah, I'd rather stick to his plan." That look of pain on his face didn't escape her at all.

"What happened?"

Isaac let out a breath and shrugged. "I managed to get a young werewolf killed because I didn't listen to Peter. I took her out when I wasn't supposed to, just like you're suggesting now; go before he says it's good to go, get a head start. I can hold my own, Bella, I can. But there were at least twenty of them and… I got lucky… she didn't. Nearly made me retreat again and fully focus on the cooking, because I really like cooking."

He had spoken about his love for cooking already, and she had figured that _this_ was just something he'd do in his spare time. Or actually, at first she thought it was the other way around, but Isaac was clearly more interested in food, measurements, being precise. He didn't allow himself to feel anything but anger, because she really did see his rage and anger in Beacon Hills. His pain. "I'm sorry to hear that," she genuinely meant it.

"If it weren't for Peter, I would have 'wasted my potential', according to him," he let out a slight snort. "And I get it, loss is a natural thing, I didn't even know the girl very well, but still, I was supposed to get her to safety."

"Ever thought about therapy?" Bella asked lightly. "I mean, you've gone through a lot in your life, surely you must have sought help to deal with it all?"

"I'm more of the 'ignore it and the problem will go away eventually' kind of guy. But on occasion I get triggered anyway and will deal with it the best that I can."

"Like in Beacon Hills."

"Yeah."

"And that's healthy?"

Isaac shrugged then. "Shouldn't you find a therapist after the last couple of days?"

Bella barked out a laugh. "No fucking way, besides, I've got you, don't I?"


	10. Chapter 10

To start a bed and breakfast in the little town wasn't such a bad idea; the only eating establishment Mystic Falls currently had was the Town House Cafe and it had been closed for what seemed forever when Bella and Isaac had found it for something to eat. It didn't even look like it was open on a regular basis.

A passerby told them that they used to have a restaurant in town but that it was once again damaged due to a _gas leak_ a years ago and the owner had given up as there was no way that he could pay for it again and the insurance hadn't been able to find the source of this gas leak. Isaac knew this, he had told Bella after the person had left and they continued their walk to the supermarket to go and cook their own food. There was no doubt that Peter had been messing with the situation, either.

She also managed to tell them that Mystic Falls was trying to rebuild itself, regain more inhabitants after all that the town has been through. The local supermarket still functioned, but from the 6000 inhabitants Mystic Falls used to have, only about 500 people remained. It would do this town good to have more people living in it, to have the money and courage to rebuild more.

As they passed the ruined building of the Mystic Grill, Bella could see why. The restaurant was sitting on a big piece of land, especially because the building next to it was in ruins as well and there were many possibilities when someone would buy both buildings including their land. Isaac told her that the Grill and the building next to it were the reasons that they were there. That they wanted that spot, and only that spot. Supposedly there was a cave system there connecting most of the city's most important spots with room to break it out further underground.

At least that's what Peter told him, and he wasn't sure why or if he was speaking the truth. Isaac told her not to mention this to the sheriff at all, they were going to meet him to get a sense of the supernatural community and the human community and give him sort of a head's up that Mystic Falls was going to get two more werewolves as part of the supernatural community. And then see what this Donovan's reaction was going to be like. There was no doubt that Peter would try and replace this sherrif with another one should the outcome be unfavorable.

Isaac was Peter's lackey. He moved in the sunlight; something Peter couldn't do without attracting a lot of attention. And it seemed like Peter was giving Isaac a purpose, something he needed. And Bella too.

Bella had expected to be with Edward forever. To be turned into a Cold One and stay with him and his family for eternity or until they both decided to go their separate ways - but she'd still be a Cold One. Her purpose would be… She wasn't even sure if there would have been a purpose for her. To study eternally? To have fun? To have sex all the time? To help protect the coven? She never really considered the consequences of turning into a Cold One. All she wanted was to stay with Edward. Forever.

Stupid Cold One pheromones and manipulation.

And she hadn't wanted to stick around in Beacon Hills, either. The town's atmosphere had felt like a disease, stuffy like a blanket and her _family_ a bunch of werewolves who thought they were better than anyone else. Just because they were from a prominent werewolf family didn't mean that they could be that arrogant and stuck up. No fucking way.

Bella's best bet had been to stick around with Isaac, and she still wasn't disagreeing with her decision. She just hoped that he wouldn't start trying to push her away harder - she was only going to leave when _she_ wanted to. Not when _he_ wanted to. If she was going to leave, she was going to leave when she was ready. And she wasn't ready now. Not by a long shot.

Thankfully this town had a motel, granted most of the rooms were out of bounds, broken, but at least they had a vacancy so Bella and Isaac would have proper beds to sleep in and the use of a shower, but somewhere during the night they both found themselves outside the motel and getting into the truck as the beds there were better. And everything was a lot quieter, too. There had been a couple next door having sex quite loudly and Bella wanted to go over and strangle them both.

Their bed and breakfast was going to have better rooms for the same price. Definitely. Looking more classy and more… comfortable. And better showers. She could have sworn she'd seen a cockroach in her hotel bathroom, but showers were good and bugs didn't hurt her, but still. It was gross.

And, like Isaac had suggested, he had tried to teach her how to control her shift before they attempted to sleep in their hotel rooms. Control like he did. Partial transformation, claws out, what not, but frustratingly, she failed, much to the hilarity of Isaac. He was laughing so much his sides started to hurt, but he was glad to see that while she had excellent control during her first full moon, that maybe she was a little too much in control over herself and didn't want to let go.

Isaac sucked.

But at least her failure made him laugh, and such a wonderful laugh that was. She caught a glimpse of how he could be; carefree and truly happy. Unburdened. And that was absolutely beautiful.

After breakfast, they went over to the sheriff station where they were going to meet with Sheriff Matt Donovan. It was as if all sheriff stations looked the same, small, a few offices but other than that a few desks and a small kitchen. Just like the one in Forks. A big city Mystic Falls was not. But that was alright, at least it was in a much warmer climate than Washington, right?

Matt Donovan looked quite young for a sheriff. Then again, if your village had been as battered by the supernatural as Mystic Falls, it was likely hard to find a sheriff. Nobody from the big cities liked moving to small towns unless they had something to hide. Did Donovan have to hide something or was he born here and hadn't bothered to move away? Maybe she should ask Charlie to check him out, just to be safe.

"Sheriff, nice to meet you. My name is Isaac Argent and this is Bella Swan," Isaac greeted him with a handshake after entering the sheriff's office and closing the door. "I believe my associate Peter Whitlock has called you so our visit isn't much of a surprise to you?"

"Yeah, he did," Sheriff Donovan shook the man's hand before sitting down in his chair. "Although I don't quite understand what I can do for you. If you want a licence for your food truck, you should talk to the mayor, apply for one at City Hall."

"We just needed a little white lie to get a foot in the door," Isaac replied, a smile on his face. Oozing confidence. Like he was when he helped Bella to get away from the Cullens. He was on a job. And he was good at his job. "Because we're here to talk to you about the supernatural community here in Mystic Falls, surely you know a lot about it?"

Donovan stiffened in his chair as he narrowed his eyes on the two strangers in his office, seemingly contemplating his next words. "You don't look like hunters, are you hiding in plain sight now?"

"If we were hunters, would we come here to ask you about the community or would we simply kick down doors and shoot first?" Isaac countered. "We're well aware of the damage the hunters do and what their ideology is. I'm happy to know that you're no stranger to the supernatural community and what's going on, though. How safe is this town for people like us?"

"You have nothing to worry about when you move here," Donovan replied, relaxing somewhat. "I make it my utmost priority that the human population is safe in this town, you will have nothing to fear from the small supernatural community that is present here. They police their own. It's interesting to see that there are more humans that know about the supernatural and that you've come to this place for some peace and quiet. Mystic Falls has had quite the beating in the past few years."

Isaac looked at Bella, who had a knowing smile on her face and he simply shrugged before looking back at Donovan. "It's great that you have such a warm heart for humans, and you're absolutely correct, it's very important that the humans are safe, supernaturals alike. Don't you have like a magic school nearby?"

"Oh, but you don't have to worry about them," the sheriff said. "They are harmless and actually run by a friend of mine."

"They are more than a school, aren't they? Like… I don't know, they house other supernaturals who are in trouble with the hunters? Take care of them?"

"Oh, thank God we managed to talk Caroline out of that one!" Donovan barked out a laugh. "You never know what you're going to get when scared supes come to town. No, don't worry, you'll be perfectly safe here in Mystic Falls. You'll be a welcome addition to this town."

"I have to admit, I was under the impression that the town was a bit…"

"In one piece? Yeah, we wish," the sheriff replied with a sigh. "With so many things happening over the years all the big cities, the insurance companies and sponsors pulled their hands off of Mystic Falls. We're doing what we can with the means that we have. Our police force is just me and my deputy, and we haven't been paid for quite some time. We have a mayor and a small city council. But that's alright, everyone who lives here loves the town and is trying to pitch in the best that they can while they work elsewhere."

"Ever considered to move?" Bella piped up, curious to the answer. This town was a mess, what were Peter's plans? Rebuild it all? Make Mystic Falls his town? Well, that would certainly be a very Cold One plan, wouldn't it? A town he could mould into his own private paradise.

"Sure," Donovan replied with half a shrug. "But some of us need to stay here. This place is of historical value, for both humans and supernaturals alike. It needs to be protected at all cost. And it's indeed a wonderful little town, despite the rubble, I'm sure you'll find it enchanting. What are your plans for when you move here?"

Isaac shrugged then. "Maybe open a restaurant."

"We're a town with 500 citizens, are you sure about that?"

"Everyone drinks alcohol, don't they?" Isaac grinned as he rose to his feet. "Thank you for meeting with us, sheriff, it's been very informative and enlightening."

"Glad to be of service," Donovan shook Isaac's hand.

"Oh, we're having a meeting with the mayor later on, just to get our bearings and stuff. Does she know about the supernatural community?"

The sheriff blinked then. What possible reason would these two have to meet the mayor? "No, she doesn't, and I prefer to keep it that way."

"We'll be keeping that from her then," he smiled before heading to the door, Bella following him. "Have a good day."

After they'd left the building, Bella then realized that Donovan believed that they were humans. "He thought-"

"Well, technically… we are. We're not dead. We're not undead… Didn't feel the need to tell him what we are, either. Safety," Isaac said as he took out his phone. "Gotta call Peter and give him an update."

"Yes, and after that, I'm using your phone to call my dad. Maybe he can do something for the sheriff here," she replied with a nod. She still had to buy a new phone, but even that had proven to be impossible in Mystic Falls that morning.

"You sure you want to do that?" Isaac looked over to her, a curious look on his face. "Your dad might tell someone where you are and they might tell it to someone else and then the Cullens will know that we're here, and I doubt that they've already stopped obsessing over you."

"Well, tough. They can't turn me. I'm a werewolf!" She sighed then. "But you're right. Wouldn't want their big greedy paws in our business. I doubt they will, but I don't even want to risk it for them turning up here. I've had enough of Edfart."

"Are you sure?" Isaac asked playfully, earning him a well earned stomp on his arm. "Hey, just checking, it's only been less than two weeks, you know. The feeling of wanting to be around him could still weasel its way inside your mind or maybe it's hiding somewhere, waiting to give you all the feels."

"Not going to happen," Bella shook her head. "I'm not that easy," she then blinked, realizing what she had said. "Not anymore."

He laughed then. "So you were easy before?"

Bella blushed, she had only made it worse for herself, hadn't she? "Bite me, Lahey. What's for lunch?"

When they got back at the truck, Isaac dialled Peter's number and put him on the speaker so he could make them a quick lunch before their meeting with the town's mayor.

" _Hit me,"_ Peter's voice sounded through the speaker, causing Isaac to smile a little. " _And don't even think about giving me the wrong information because ya know I'll find out."_

"Mystic Falls is a ghost town. Population of about 500. Most of the town's center is destroyed, buildings are abandoned. There's one supermarket, but I doubt you can even call it that. There's not much other than police and city hall. The sheriff told us that the citizens pay for the reconstruction of the town out of their own pocket because they're not getting the support from insurances and other towns around them anymore," Isaac said as he handed Bella a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, causing her to raise an eyebrow. "What? It's barely a supermarket, you saw it with your own eyes!"

" _What about the buildings we're interested in, Isaac?"_

"Still broken and abandoned, the both of them. I think that if we'd tear it down and build something else there that the city center would look a lot better already."

"I have ideas," Bella piped up.

" _Good. How's the hotel?"_

"Truck's better," the two werewolves said in unison. "Much better!"

" _Okay well. I'll send over an architect to start working with ya after telling him my own ideas and specific instructions,"_ Peter replied, his voice even. " _Offer the mayor 10 million for the land of both plots, tell her of the idea of building a beautiful bed and breakfast type of building there that will also serve as a restaurant and maybe even a bowling alley if theirs is out of commision. Tell her that your boss has shown an interest in Mystic Falls and wants to help rebuild, and that once she agrees to us buying the land, she'll receive a generous donation for the town."_

"It won't work that way," Bella rolled her eyes as she took a bite out of her sandwich. "If you're unsure you're going to get the land anyway, go in with the big numbers first, then ask for a favor. What's the generous donation? I'll handle this."

" _Very well. Would ya reckon that 50 million is generous enough?"_

Bella's jaw nearly hit the floor as she looked at Isaac.

"Yeah, he's serious. Money works always," Isaac nodded as he started to eat his own sandwich. "And I think that 50 million is very generous. They'll be able to rebuild and thensome. Make it a real small town again."

" _Good. And still 10 million for the land."_

"I'll handle it, I promise," Bella smiled. "For some reason, I think it's best if it's a woman to woman thing, I have no doubt that the mayor will take shit from anyone if she's so stubborn not to leave this town. But geez, that's a lot of money."

" _We need that land. We're desperate. Doing this the right way instead of taking over the town by replacing the mayor. Because of that oaf you're with. He was against a hostile takeover."_ Some clanging could be heard in the back of the phone call. " _Call me after your meeting with the mayor… I have things to take care of."_ The call got disconnected then.

Bella was still looking at Isaac with an incredulous look on her face. "I am no stranger to Cold Ones having money, it's like they're hoarding it like the dragon from _The Hobbit_ , but to throw it away like this?"

"It's not throwing away when it gets us what we need. Peter really has his sights set on that specific plot of land, there's no other area in America that has the same qualities or structure underneath. Believe me, 50 million is still only just a drop in the bucket for him. He'll likely invest another 50 in some oil company or whatever's doing good on the stock market and make it back, double," Isaac replied as he used the coffee machine to make them coffee. "It's not like he's using his money for evil."

"No… I suppose that's true…" Bella sighed, finishing her sandwich. "But still, you're going to allow me to do all the talking?" She asked, hopeful. She wanted to show him, and Peter, that she was going to be a part of this as much as they were and that she could chip in. That she could do whatever was needed. She needed to show Isaac that she wasn't going anywhere. It was okay to trust. It was okay, for her, to trust Isaac. She couldn't allow herself to stop trusting people after what Edward had done to her.

He shrugged. "Peter didn't object, so… yeah, why not?" He was going to give it six months to a year, tops. Then she'd leave. She'd be gone and he'd be left on his own. Again. But still, he couldn't help but feel that a small crack had appeared in the walls that he'd put up and the strange feeling of hope came through it. Was it okay to let her in? Allow himself to get used to the idea of having her around like this? He wasn't going anywhere, but she could go anywhere she wanted to go, and within a year, she was going to explore the rest of the world.

She gratefully took her coffee from Isaac as she looked at his face. His brows were furrowed as if he was thinking hard about something, the slight hunch was back in his shoulders. "What are you thinking?"

"Huh?"

"What are your thoughts? You look so deep in thoughts that I believed you might hurt yourself."

"Oh, it's nothing," he flashed a faint smile before taking a sip of his coffee, hiding his fake smile from her.

"I call bullshit, but that's okay, I'll find out soon enough," she shrugged, a knowing smile dancing on her lips. "Because I _can_ call Bullshit, too. And there's no doubt he'd want to spill the beans on you seeing as he already knew I'd be sticking around and that you needed a friend and all."

"I don't-"

"- need anyone, yeah yeah. You're fine on your own, blah blah… Stop being so emo."


	11. Chapter 11

They found the mayor tending to a child with scratches on their knee near the gazebo after her assistant told them that she'd gone out for the day. Catching a good whiff of the mayor's scent, Bella and Isaac didn't have a hard time finding her. And the mayor didn't look like a mayor at all. She was dressed in scrubs. Was she a doctor?

"Mayor Fell?" Bella asked cautiously, not wanting to disturb the mayor and the child, but she finished up on the scratches, said goodbye to the child and got to her feet, looking at the two people in front of her. "Hi," she smiled at the mayor. "My name is Bella Swan, and this is Isaac Argent," she said as she shook the mayor's hand.

"Meredith Fell," the mayor replied, still looking a bit cautious. "And I'm out of the Mayor's office so you might as well call me Meredith. What can I help you two with?"

"Yeah…" Bella said thoughtfully. "I was under the impression we had an appointment half an hour ago?" She scratched her head as she looked at Isaac. "Didn't our boss tell us we had an appointment?"

"Not in those exact words," Isaac pointed out. "He told us to go and see the mayor."

"Okay, forgive me," Bella replied, looking at the mayor. "Our boss should have made an appointment with you, but he's smitten with this town, his mind is likely elsewhere."

Meredith blinked at that, she couldn't imagine someone being smitten with Mystic Falls the way that it looked now. "Excuse me?"

"Sure, Mystic Falls looks like it's gone to war, came back, went to hell and back to war, but you can't deny that a small town like this still has its charms," Bella smiled as she waved her hand around them. "I can't even begin to imagine what this place looked like in its glory days."

"It was wonderful, we were bustling," Meredith replied as she put her hands inside her pocket. "We had parades, bake sales, charity runs, the works. These days it's hoping that nothing will crumble and that we can fix what we can."

"Yes, the sheriff told us that there's practically no money coming in," Bella replied thoughtfully. "But still, our boss really loves this town, and he'd like to make a generous donation to you so you can hire the people necessary to start rebuilding. Properly. Get life back into Mystic Falls and stimulate the economy and all. Make Mystic Falls the way it used to be."

Meredith huffed then. "No thanks," she replied, shaking her head. "Yes, we had a lovely town. It's still lovely. But we've had so much shit in the last two decades that if we'd revert back to what it was that it'll likely come back again. No, it's best to let this town become a real ghost town and eventually forgotten."

"Are you serious? Places like these should be protected! I come from a small town up in Washington, and I don't know what I would do if it was in a state like this one. I'd welcome a generous donation to help rebuild."

"Look," Meredith said as she took a step closer to Bella, anger written all over her face. "I don't know who you are, or what your exact motives are, but this town stays the way that it is. This way? We don't get vampires or werewolves or witches fucking shit up, and I quite like it this way. It's a sense of peace in an otherwise chaotic environment. Safety. So back off. I said no."

"And here the sheriff said you didn't know about supernaturals," Isaac quipped, taking a step closer to Bella in case the woman would attack her. "I thought the community policed themselves?"

"They do. They're in a small enough number to do so," Meredith reluctantly replied, realizing what she had said and that these two people weren't going anywhere. "But all this crap in this town is because of that same community. I don't want to have my citizens live in fear anymore, waiting for the next 'gas leak' or explosion. Or animal attack. I don't know how, or why, you know about the supernaturals, but you're in way over your head. Tell your boss to find another small town he can rebuild and reform. We've had enough."

"What if the donation comes with a guarantee that the citizens of Mystic Falls will be safe and not exposed to any of that?" Isaac suggested a smile on his face. "Bella and I will remain here and make sure of that ourselves. Personally. I've seen pictures of Mystic Falls before all the destruction, and it could be that beautiful here again. Peaceful with your bake sales and parades. Smiles. Laughter. Music. Good food. Mystic Falls needs to be preserved, saved. Not just for its historical value, but also because of the community. Allow it to fall apart like you suggest, and have it be forgotten, will only open it up for more difficulties for the surrounding area. You know this. Mystic Falls is a supernatural hotspot, and it needs to be protected. And not have a ghost town sitting on top of it."

"And what about the hunters? They shoot first and ask questions later."

"If the town gets rebuild in a normal pace, slowly, then it won't draw the attention of the hunters much. They know what Mystic Falls have gone through and they also know that most of the supernatural community fled or died. But we will protect you. We work for someone who has the means to protect this entire town."

She seemed to think about it for a second and sighed, giving in, agreeing with everything Isaac had said. "And what would you want in return for your generous donation?"

"We'd like your approval to buy the strip of land that currently houses the remains of your Mystic Grill and the building next to it, with the promise we'll replace it with something fitting to the town, both inside and on the outside. Of course, we'll pay good money for that too."

"And you're really going to keep this town safe? Keep the humans safe? And deal with the hunters?" Meredith asked again, hopeful all of a sudden or maybe resigning anyway because she wasn't cut out to be the mayor of a small town. She was obviously a doctor on her way to work, and they sprung this thing on her. "How?"

"Leave that to us, for now, but my boss gives his word that everyone who lives in Mystic Falls will be safe. He loves small towns, and he wants to make sure that they all stay afloat and conserve history. He's not interested in the magic that lies here, he wants Bella and I to run a Bed and Breakfast that also doubles as a restaurant, and I have all the qualifications to run something like that. If you want, I could send you over my qualifications, of course."

"Well, any good small town has a diner or something at the center of their community…" Meredith let out a breath and nodded. "Very well. You have yourselves a deal." When Isaac handed Meredith the cheque for 60 million dollars, the woman paled. "This is far too much."

"No, this is how serious our boss is," Bella replied kindly. Feeling a little out of depth because she had fucked up a little with the mayor. "Mystic Falls is worth this kind of money. Your infrastructure needs the injection, and you need to hire people to come and fix things up. And when you need more, just ask."

The mayor let out another breath as she looked at the cheque again, blinking. "Stop by tomorrow at 9 am so you can sign the papers for that plot of land. My only request is that something comes into place that won't hurt the town's atmosphere, nothing big city like."

"We only have the best interest at heart for Mystic Falls, mayor Fell."

"God, I can't believe I'm that easy to convince… what are you? You're not hunters, are you? Vampires? Witches?"

"No," Isaac let out a snort. "We're merely workers for a man with a lot of money. You don't need to worry about us."

"Good," she looked at the cheque again. "This is still too much. But I'll see you tomorrow at 9 am sharp. I have a surgery at 10 so…"

"We'll be there," Bella said as she looped her arm through Isaac's. "Have a great day, mayor Fell, we'll see you tomorrow." She then started to pull Isaac away, it was time for some more strolling through Mystic Falls. As soon as they were out of earshot of the woman, Bella let out a slight giggle. "I can't believe we're actually doing some good here. I mean, not just for us but for them as well."

"It's a means to an end," Isaac shrugged. "I mean, yeah, we can keep an eye out for the safety of Mystic Falls and stuff, but our cause will be the most important thing."

"And we're helping people, on both sides of the spectrum, which is a good thing."

"We nearly wouldn't be helping people," he reminded her with a playful smile on his face. "But a job well done. What do you want to do for the rest of the day? Go into the woods and practise some more?"

"Magic school?"

"Eh, not yet," Isaac replied, running a hand through his hair. "We don't need their help at this point, we'll wait for Peter to say that we have to go. And maybe we should talk a bit more about that school with the sheriff, he seems to know who's running it. Things take time, patience. All we can do is wait. Maybe scout out some suppliers in the area for our future B&B. There's no doubt that Peter will arrange everything concerning the building. The people, the supplies, the other shit that's required. Cold Ones are good at building."

"But at least he allows his architect to talk to us so we can get our say in."

"Well yeah, because we're human. We need beds. Food. Comfort. And I think you're just going to love ordering things for when the B&B is ready for us."

Bella huffed as she let go of him and crossed her arms over her chest as she stomped after him. "What makes you think that I like interior decorating? Is it because I'm a girl?"

"N-No," Isaac stammered, blinking as he squeezed his hands into fists and immediately released them, a slight unsure bounce in his step before he fully stopped. "I thought you said you liked... I don't know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"It's a joke, Isaac," she started to laugh then. "Yes, let's drive out to the city and find suppliers and their magazines, I love browsing through those things and see what we can make of things. But we're avoiding IKEA! It needs to be warm and cozy on the inside, a real Southern feel, you know. Maybe even find people local to make things on commission!" She then paused for a moment before realizing something. "Peter is going to pay for the inside of the building too, isn't he? Of course, he is, he spent 60 million on a plot of land and buying the mayor's favoritism! Let's go and drive around some and get inspired!"

They found a woodworking company in Richmond more than willing to help them with getting them furniture and whatnot as soon as the plans were ready for said building. Bella loved the way they worked with wood, it was a mixture of romantic olden days with a dash of modernism, and they were confident that they could deliver everything on time. All Bella needed to do was to look into their catalogue and order the amount of the objects. She was pleased about that.

The same went for the carpentry and drapes. They had found some excellent candidates online and checked them out. Isaac didn't have to go and visit some restaurant equipment store, he had found the perfect website that had everything he wanted, or needed, and then some. But, as enthusiastic the both of them were, they had to wait until the plans were ready for the B&B and the supernatural safe house. Only then they'd know how much space they'd have and stuff like that.

They had dinner at a small restaurant which had been advertised as the home of Southern Cooking. That the place had a soul and the food was terrific. And it was. It didn't disappoint, and their hostess and the cook were so welcoming and warm. The way that the restaurant was decorated was perhaps a little too much in Bella's taste, but the food was good indeed, and she could tell that Isaac was just itching to talk to the chef about food-related things. Likely about where they were getting their supplies from.

Food got Isaac really excited, so when the hostess suggested he'd take a look in the kitchen and fire some questions at the chef, he didn't hesitate and went, only to return an hour later with a big smile on his face and a long list of suppliers and other stuff, god knows what.

"Happy?"

"Totally," Isaac grinned. "The way that they run their kitchen? It's the way I want to run mine. They all work so well together, and everything's done in harmony. No pressure. In my experience, it's rare to find something like that, but that's what I want. And you know what? They don't use measuring jugs or stuff like that. They all eyeball it, and that's…"

"Cooking."

"Daring. Insane. But, nevertheless, the results are so good," he said as he folded the sheet of paper and put it in his pocket. "Maybe I should try it, see if it works for me, too."

"Really? I thought you were so meticulous in your food! Precise measurements!" Bella said mockingly after leaving the restaurant and heading back to the truck. Oh, this was great! Was Isaac going to let go? Hell yeah! "Even your teachers didn't like you doing that! You're really going to let go and see where it takes you? Oh my God, I so need to see this! And taste the good food!"

"Are you mocking me?"

"Nope," she smiled at him. "I think it's adorable how excited you are and I think you should definitely try it. And not stop when you fuck up because I said it before, your food is great. It's perfect. But I think it would taste better if you had fun with it and cook from your heart and not from that brain of yours and I think that that chef inspired you. That's amazing." Bella then put her arms around him and hugged him. "Baby steps. You'll find your happiness."

Isaac huffed as he looked at her, she was looking up at him, and he swallowed, hard. She looked so damn fuckable. "I'm not unhappy." No. He wasn't going to pursue this feeling. She was going to leave anyway, and he'd be left on his own again.

"Nobody likes being miserable," Bella pointed out, ignoring what he had said. She let go of him and took his hand instead as they continued to walk towards the truck. "It's your self-defense mechanism while you don't even need one because you're a fucking werewolf and can snap people in half if he wants to."

"You're not listening."

"Nope. We're both two very miserable people for different reasons. I mean, I can see it, why can't you? Do you think I don't hold a lot of anger towards Edfart and his family for what they did? I shouldn't even be because I was warned and went ahead anyway, so it was my own fault. But it happened, and that's in the past… recent past, but who the fuck cares? What matters is the future, and I think it's going to be sunny and bright." She then took a deep breath. "Okay, that sounded like a Hallmark greeting, but trust me, everything's going to be alright. And I _will_ hurt Edward the moment he comes close to me again."

"Seems to me you've got a whole lot of rage inside of you."

She huffed. "Look who's talking. What you need is a good lay."

"What!" Isaac exclaimed as the color red crept up on his cheeks. "Me? What about you! It's not like you were getting any from your marble and manipulative boyfriend!"

She started to squeeze his hand so tightly that some small bones in his hand broke. "Not for a fucking lack of trying and it wasn't as if I could sneak off, you know! And that was totally not fair!" Bella tightened her grip on Isaac's hand even more. "He fucking changed me into someone I wasn't, and I didn't even have control over it. So don't use that shit on me! My sex life is mine!"

"Yeah, alright," Isaac let out a breath before trying to get Bella to release him. "But so is mine and you started it. Now let go of my hand, you're actually hurting me now." Oh, he would have thrown anyone away from him who'd hurt him physically, but he didn't want to do that with Bella. This was still adjustment issues, and Alpha's did have an extra layer of temper to begin with. Oh, and of course she was a Hale. Jesus fuck, had Derek hurt him during fight training.

"Promise me you won't mention my sex life again!"

"Yes, yes, I promise," Isaac said quickly. "For fuck's sake, we'll find you a gigolo or something!" It was out before he knew it and he was flying through the air before hitting a wall before he knew it, too. "Are you done?!" He scrambled to his feet, shaking the pain out of his body as he stared at her for a moment, feeling the bones slowly starting to heal. This was a disaster.

"Yes!" Bella yelled at him, stomping back into the general direction of the truck. "I'm fucking driving!"

"The hell you are!" He was surprised by how aroused he was during this encounter. It was bad, very bad. Pain wasn't pleasure, but fuck, Bella was so arousing. So exciting. So… sexy. No. No. He wasn't going to allow his dick make his head follow down that route again. Bella was going to leave eventually and would leave him by himself. No. He wasn't going to give in.

Adjusting his pants a bit, he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and followed her to the truck. There was no way that he was going to allow her to drive right now. He prefered his vehicle in one piece. The seething Alpha could be in the back if she wanted to be.


	12. Chapter 12

Bella had calmed down somewhat by the time they returned to Mystic Falls. She had felt this kind of rage before, of course, she had, but she had no reason to rage like this because yes, she had started it - playfully, and Isaac threw it right back in her face - also playfully. And she had flown into a fit of rage and actually hurt him.

"I'm sorry," she said as she followed him out of the truck into the hotel's parking lot. "I'm sorry for breaking your hand and then throwing you against that wall… I-... I think I lost control."

"Don't worry about it," he smiled at her, holding up his hand and moving his fingers. "See? Nothing wrong, already fixed."

Did werewolves really heal that fast? "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," he nodded as he got into the back of the truck to pull the beds out in case they were going to need them during the night. "It was kinda hot, to be honest."

Bella blinked at that admission but didn't say anything as she grabbed the bag with magazines out of the truck. For some reason it made her feel even worse. She had hurt him, physically, and that should never be hot when it's not consensual, and her rage had not been consensual with either of them. By losing control like that, she had been just as bad as the Beacon Hills demons in Isaac's head, hadn't she? She needed to be better, and it was likely a good thing to try to keep her distance from him for a while until she'd figured this out.

She focused on finding the right kind of feel for the bed and breakfast in the magazines, going as far as cutting it all out and paste it onto a clean sheet of paper for every principal room. When it was 3 am she forced herself to take some rest and sleep, but all she could think about was how bad she'd been to Isaac, and how wrong it was for her to stay.

They had breakfast in the truck the next morning, and Isaac went to the mayor's office to sign the papers for the land, and all the permits that came with the property. Destruction. Construction. Permittance to dig into the caves and all that kind of shit. Alcohol permits and hotel permits would follow later after the building was completed.

When Isaac returned, he informed her that the architect would be coming in a couple of hours, but that he wanted to go for a run with her in the woods to get rid of some excess energy. He put all the permits safely away in a safe in the truck and wondered out loud if Bella would be faster than him. She huffed, saying that she was never athletic whatsoever as she kept tripping over her own feet. And while they had gone for a run around in Beacon Hills, that didn't mean that she suddenly earned more speed in her legs or something.

But oh boy, did running clear and calm her mind! She still felt terrible about having hurt Isaac and him being okay with it, but maybe she was making a bigger deal out of it than it was. Of course, she'd have some teething problems in the beginning, and sure, she could have stayed back and learned from her new family, but she had chosen for Isaac. Peter Whitlock had chosen for Isaac. If Isaac hadn't been the right fit, Peter would have never sent him in, would he?

Bella hated it when her insecurities surfaced, but it was a good reality check. It usually meant that she'd been spending too much time inside her mind and she was definitely going to take up running as a hobby to relax. Hell, Bella was even going to buy some sportswear to fit in. She no longer had restrictions. Nobody was telling her how to live, she was free, completely free and herself. She was what she had always been, and nobody was holding her back.

She was allowed to go through a variety of emotions, she was still adjusting to everything. The lack of influencing coming from the Cold Ones, and Jasper in particular, being a werewolf… it was alright to let go.

But still, she was surprised when Isaac was teaching her to fight as she felt her body change after a couple of rounds. Her face, but her hands were the most noticeable. Hairier. Long fingernails and she couldn't help but stare at her claws in awe. And yes, it had hurt just a little, but she was in awe of the transformation.

Something inside of her cheered. She wasn't a faulty werewolf after all!

Her heart swelled when Isaac took a picture of her with, and without, flash to show her what she looked like and she couldn't help but squeal in joy and tackle him to the ground as she threw her arms around him. "I'm a werewolf!" she laughed as they lay on the forest floor, no doubt with twigs poking in Isaac's back but she felt good! "I'm free!"

"Yes," he smiled at her, gently patting her back as he looked at her. "You'll feel a lot better if you remember that. You're free. Nobody is stopping you from doing what you want but yourself. You're a fucking werewolf Alpha, nobody messes with you!"

"Yes! How do I roar? You know, how Derek showed me?" There was a slight hesitation on his face then, and Bella wasn't sure why. "What?" She moved so she was now sitting on top of him, her head cocked much like that of a cute little puppy.

She wasn't his Alpha, but one wrong howl and he would likely roll over and submit. Because he was starting to feel far too comfortable with Bella around. He had to remind himself that she was going to leave eventually. "Nothing," he smiled at her. "Howling just happens. Just try, and see what comes out of you." According to Stiles, Scott had sounded like a cat being choked to death when he tried calling for the Alpha for the first time. "It's more of an… instinctual thing. Wolves howl to signal to their pack where they are. I guess you could imagine you're lost and trying to get help."

"But I don't have a pack."

That dimwitted look on her face was endearing. "Other wolves will pick up on it too," he nodded. "Which is why it's safe for you to practise here because there are no werewolves left here, only the cute animal ones." Isaac hoped that whatever she was feeling now, she'd hold on to for the rest of her life. He didn't like to see her miserable. "Imagine you want to howl for your dad."

A pang of homesickness hurt her heart. "That's not fair."

"But it might work."

"Can I use your phone later to call him without telling him where I am?"

"Of course."

Bella nodded and rolled her head and shoulders as she closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. She then tried her best to let out a howl. It sounded okay in her head, but when she looked at Isaac, she could tell that he was doing his best not to laugh. "What?"

"You sounded like a cute little puppy," he snickered.

Bella huffed. "I'll just need more practise. Let me hear yours."

"Nope," Isaac shook his head as he lifted her off of him and got to his feet before helping her back up. "Because I don't actually want to alert others to where I am." He gave her his phone. "You're always free to call your dad, this phone can't be traced and all, but please don't tell him where you are."

"I know," she said as she gratefully started to dial Charlie's number. "You didn't kidnap me and I choose to stay with you and with that comes rules. And I won't ask him for a favor for the sheriff's office here. Especially after Peter's generous amount of money for the town and the land."

"For safety."

"For safety," she nodded as she started to walk back, following Isaac. The phone still rang, and she wondered when Charlie was going to pick up. When she wanted to dial again, he finally picked up.

"Who is this?"

"Hi dad," Bella smiled as she took a few steps closer to Isaac as they continued to walk back to the truck. They had an architect to meet, after all. "How are you doing?"

"A little bit stunned, I would have thought you would have disowned me by now for lying to you."

"Yeah…" she let out a breath. "Maybe just a little, but I wanted to know if you were okay."

"Yeah, Sue and I are currently planning a barbeque on the rez. The Cullens moved away a couple of days ago, it's nice and quiet here again."

"They moved? Where to?" Oh, they really needed to stay away from her. There was no doubt that she'd now be resistant to their charms, but she was still far too angry with them for having manipulated her for so long.

"I don't know. Alaska or something? Your friend Peter did a lot of work to make sure that they left. Basically, he and the Quileute ran them out of town. It was quite a sight."

"No doubt," Bella replied, knowing that the Cullens had 'family' in Alaska. She just hoped that they wouldn't come and find her, but Peter said he'd make sure of that.

"And how are you doing, Bella? How was Beacon Hills?"

"That was an adventure, one I don't really like to revisit," she replied truthfully. "Uncle is an opportunist and brother is… I don't know. Rudderless? I decided to stick with Isaac, he's helping me come to grips with what I am, and help out with his and Peter's cause."

"Be careful, sweetheart," Charlie said warmly. "That world is completely different from what you're used to."

"Don't worry, we're fine. Safe. You taught me well, dad."

"Good. Despite what I did, I hope you can forgive me one day. I'd never go against your mother's wishes."

"Seems like nobody ever would," she muttered as she had learned that in Beacon Hills. "Love you, dad."

"Love you too."

Bella handed the phone back to Isaac after disconnecting the call. "Thanks, I needed that."

"You're welcome to call him whenever, you know."

"Nah. He's right. I should have disowned him for lying to me for all of my life and not taking my best interests at heart. So much shit would have been avoided if I had known," she ran a hand through her hair and smiled. "On the other hand, parents are these magical beings, no doubt they want their children to be safe and will do whatever it takes. I mean, I can't stay mad at him, but he should have told me."

Isaac nodded as he pushed his hands in his pockets. "I am glad you're feeling better though."

"Oh, totally! I should take up running as a hobby if we're going to stay here for a while! It's a great way to go exploring and shit!" Bella said excitedly, a big smile on her face. "I am so ready for a new life, Isaac."

"Are you sticking with it now?"

"Oh, totally," she nodded as she refastened her hair into a ponytail. "I'm hungry."

When they got back to the truck, they had some lunch, and they didn't have to wait long for the architect to arrive. Bella wasn't surprised to find out that this architect was a vampire. Not a Cold One as his complexion was normal and looked normal. His name was John Hammond, born and raised in Alabama and had been designing homes for over a hundred years much to the satisfaction of his customers.

He had a beautiful sketch done for the Bed and Breakfast and for the accompanying building where they could host parties and whatnot. He had made them in two separate buildings, the B&B had a deep porch all around it, there were French doors, several columns to hold the structure up, big windows and the drawing looked just fantastic. The 'party shack' looked like a barn, but also with big windows, and both would fit in perfectly with the other buildings in Mystic Falls - especially since John let it drop that he was going to help rebuild the town. All the glass of both buildings would be special glass of course. Bullet and sparkle proof.

He then showed them the blueprint for the inside. There was room for a large kitchen, a dining room, a reception area and a library to sit in. There'd be a spiral staircase - and an elevator for those who couldn't use the stairs - leading to the first floor where there would be room for eight spacious rooms with ensuites, and another staircase going to the top level which was separated by another wall through the middle. There were two large suites on one half, and the other half could be accessed through a door, where Bella and Isaac would be living. Separate bedrooms, a small kitchen, two bathrooms and a living room. Like a mini apartment. Unless they had other plans, then John would have to amend those plans, but seeing as he'd only been told about Bella after the drawings were made, he didn't have time to adjust the floor plan.

The only way to the basement was either through a security door at the back of the house that was well hidden from sight or a security door from the kitchen. The basement held the linen room with room for two washing machines and a tumble dryer or two and a trash collecting area. But John had also taken into account that it was going to be a place to give supernatural beings being hunted a place to hide out. There was a massive dormitory with room for twenty bunk beds, a few showers and a kitchen. Two small family rooms in case it was needed. And, there would be a security door leading to the cave systems below that Peter had plans to dig out.

The basement would be well isolated, of course. No sound coming out of there, and no heat getting lost either. Fresh air would come from the air conditioning system.

All in all, Isaac was pretty happy with the plans but suggested to move the restaurant to the side of the house so that patrons could see the street they were at, the road next to it and the backyard. It had to be customer friendly, that even if they didn't have any guests staying over, people would still come for the food and ambiance. Maybe even a patio outside in the back garden for those long hot summers. He also wanted a dormitory in the building next to theirs, in cases of school trips or backpackers. And maybe a smaller sitting area to have a small gift shop as well. Tourists loved their gift shops.

John knew that Bella was going to busy herself with the interior - or at least anything that wasn't the kitchen, and offered the help of one of his experienced associates to help her with that. And, if Bella felt more comfortable with it, it could even be a human. Shellie was one of his hardest working interior designers, and he was sure that the girls would hit it off. Bella wanted to say 'no', a bit of pride, perhaps, but while she was great at picking out things, she didn't know a thing about interior design. There was more to interior designing than picking out furniture. So she welcomed the help.

After John left, they explored Mystic Falls some more, and it was back to waiting to see what Peter had planned for them. Isaac woke her up in the middle of the night a few days later waving his phone around. "I'm heading out, I won't be long, but I might not be back for breakfast."

Bella yawned as she leaned against the doorpost of her hotel room. "Where are you going?"

"There are some nomadic wolves close by causing some ruckus, I'm going to ask them politely to fuck off. Don't want them to attract the attention of hunters. Not when Peter's demolition crew comes in a few days."

Isaac had told her that it was likely that Peter had hired a crew of vampires to get shit down faster, which was, of course, the easy way out. Of course, they couldn't use hunters in Mystic Falls when the human population would be outnumbered because of the vampires in town. "Give me a minute, I'll come with."

Isaac almost looked disappointed as he tried to find the words. "I've encountered them before. Likely. I'm merely telling you so you won't get worried or something when you wake up and see that the truck is gone."

"I'm coming with," she said again as she turned around to get into her clothes and pulled on her shoes. "I'm learning about this side of your life, remember? Let me learn. Teach me."

"Fine," he said as he walked to the truck. "But you're staying in the truck. There's not knowing what they'll do, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"Hello, werewolf! I heal fast now!" She reminded him, although she hadn't actually tested that theory yet, and the look on Isaac's face said enough. "Yeah, you're right, need to actually test that first," Bella sighed as she got into the passenger seat. "I'll stay behind. For now. We're going to test that healing thing soon though, yeah?"

"That was the plan for tomorrow… uh, today," he replied as he started the truck. "So, let us get through this, get back, have some breakfast and then we'll play a little with knives. But not now."

"Not now," Bella nodded. She didn't like blood much, and she had only just woken up; it could result into her vomiting all over the place, and she didn't want to clean out the truck because the smell alone could set it off all over again. "I'll stay in the truck, with a gun. I have your back when you need it, but they won't cause too much trouble, will they?"

"Nah," he smirked as he drove off the parking lot to the coordinates he received from one of Peter's little spies. "Don't worry about it." He hoped that the other Omega's would be trouble. It had been a while since he'd been in a good fight and therefore had wanted Bella to stay at the hotel so she wouldn't see him lose his cool, but fuck, whatever. She had seen him in Beacon Hills, and that was him being in control, maybe seeing how bad things could get without the hunters even being involved would make her run for the hills even faster.

It would still be easy right now to continue living his life the way he had been living it. The longer she stayed, the harder it was going to get to hold on to that and to revert back to it entirely. She was going to leave, eventually, why not speed up the process?

Oh, he so hoped those wolves were trouble! He liked to win.


	13. Chapter 13

The gun hadn't worked, werewolves were fast healers and god, maybe a sword had been better? It was only when she revealed herself to be an Alpha and roared so hard to make them back off, with the intent of telling them that this area was hers, that the omega's left and she could go in and get Isaac back to the truck.

Oh, he had put up a good fight, alright, after the wolves didn't want to listen to him. He really went beserk and for a while it seemed he could handle himself, but it had been an unfair fight. Ten to one. And he did this often? How often had it resulted in him getting knocked unconscious?

She managed to drag him closer to the truck before dropping him to the ground and headed inside to get some water and clean bandages to start cleaning him up. So besides being anal about his truck, he liked a good beating from now and then? What the hell was he doing to himself? Werewolf or not, this wasn't acceptable behaviour. She could take the truck, she didn't want to get used to him getting beaten up because he wants to… what? Punish himself? Be punished? She hoped it was just a 'guy thing' and one of Isaac's other ways to deal with his aggression as a werewolf.

And she shouldn't make assumptions just because she knew that Isaac showed signs of being a mess. No, she was going to talk to him about that.

She poured an entire bottle of water over his bloodied face, waking him up with a splutter before she leaned back against the truck with her arms crossed, watching him. "You might have a few broken bones there, buddy."

He rubbed his face as he groaned and slowly got to his feet. "Yep… Uh… Sorry. I had underestimated the threat…" He had his head bowed as he scratched his hair, looking up at her, embarrassed. "But hey, you told them!" Isaac said a bit more excitedly.

Bella didn't go along in his excitement, and instead raised a brow. "Did you really underestimate the situation?" she questioned him. "Or is this something you'd like to do?"

"What? Get beaten up?" Isaac huffed as he dried his face with his shirt. "No. Honestly, I thought these were the nice omega's, but apparently the jerks are still around as well. The hunters can have them," he said as he got into the truck and started to clean his face. He hurt, but he was healing. And yes, he'd been stupid and he understood why she felt like he might actually liked getting beaten up. "But again, your roar was majestic."

"I'm surprised you even heard that," Bella huffed, crossing her arms as she stood in the doorway, watching Isaac clean himself up and get a change of shirt. His torso was bruised and had Isaac been a human, he'd definitely had earned himself a trip to the hospital. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. I've had worse," he sighed. "Okay, I had kinda hoped that they'd be trouble. But I hadn't expected them to be a lot stronger and with the ten of them. I like to win, you see. I don't fight when I'm not certain I can win."

"So your ego is bruised." Bella stated simply. "And the gun didn't work."

"Ah, no that was for the hunters, you should have grabbed the silver mistletoe bullets, but you can't really touch them without gloves," Isaac replied as he quickly pulled his shirt over his head. "And it also depends on the werewolf type, there are three kinds the last time I checked. Seems like your roar attracted some attention," he said in a hushed voice, grabbing one of his long kitchen knives from the compartment above his head. The movement was too quiet, too fluent to be the one of an ordinary human and after pulling Bella inside, he went outside.

"Oh, good thing you're okay," the woman said as she came to a halt in front of Isaac. "You're hurt! Ah, sorry, we heard a wild animal and we knew we weren't the only campers in the woods and-"

Isaac eyed the blonde vampire as she rambled. She was far too preppy and happy for this time of night. But she _seemed_ harmless. He muffled his knife up his sleeve and stared at her blankly until she was done talking. She was lying through her teeth, much like he'd do in a situation like this. It was amusing. "Well," he eventually said, cutting off the woman's rambling. "I know for a fact that you're lying. You made the mistake of not walking here like a normal human being and if I'm not mistaken, Mystic Falls has a vampire population of one - with the occasional _friends_ dropping by, of course. You must be Caroline Salvatore-Forbes, you're in charge of the magic school, aren't you?"

Not surprisingly, he found himself being smacked against the side of his truck by the vampire. "Easy," he groaned, his bones still healing from the fight he had only moments before. "We're friendly… My boss Peter Whitlock has likely called you to inform you that there'd be two werewolves in town, working for him? That's us. I'm Isaac Argent," he said before nodding to Bella who was now standing in the door opening. "That's Bella Swan, and it's her roar that you've heard to scare the omega's away and claiming this town as hers."

"And I'd appreciate it if you'd let go of him, he's still healing from those omegas attacking him," Bella said pointedly as she got out of the truck and took a few steps closer to the vampire holding Isaac. "We're on your side, it's the whole reason why he wanted those werewolves out of here."

Caroline huffed as she let go of Isaac and dusted her hands off. "You should have come to the school and introduced yourselves," she said as she eyed the two werewolves. "Your boss did call me, telling me that he was going to help rebuild the town and create a safehouse of some sort for supernaturals being hunted by those hunters. Which is a great idea, with the children at our school we simply can't be that for adults. Anyway, very nice to meet you. Why won't you come over for breakfast? I'm sure Alaric would love to meet you. Let's get to know each other if we're going to be in the same little town, huh?"

Bella looked at Isaac and saw that he was hesitating. He was all for being on his own, but Bella wanted friends. She had left them all behind in Forks and if she was going to stay here, she wanted to be more social. Do stuff. Not just work. "Oh, that's a great idea!" Caroline seemed nice, normal and not psychotic. She was a vampire but not a Cold One, and while Isaac had told her about this kind of vampire, she was still curious. Besides, Isaac would likely insist on making them breakfast and she wasn't going to let him.

"Good, you know where it is, right? Wouldn't want to leave this awesome truck here in the woods, you never know what might walk around in here."

"Yeah, we'll be there in like ten minutes," Bella said excitedly and watched the blonde vampire speed off before she was going to deal with with the sour looking werewolf next to her. "Suck it up. If we're going to stay here, we're going to need friends. Or at least friendlies," she said as she pulled him along with her to get inside the truck. "And put that knife back, we're going to a school."

"Bella, I'm not in the mood to-"

"Suck it up. You decided to fight with wolves and sidelining me. Guess what? I saved your ass, so now we're going to have breakfast with that vampire and her human friend, or isn't he a human?"

"Peter wasn't sure."

"And another thing, you said they didn't know about us, but you told her Peter called them? Isaac, you need to communicate more," she said as she watched him put the knife back before she crawled behind the wheel. Oh hell yeah, she was going to drive. She felt empowered, stronger. It was as if her proper roar had unlocked something inside of her and it was fantastic.

It was almost as if she could smell Isaac's anxiety and all she wanted to do was to tell him everything was going to be alright. It was going to take some time, but he was going to be alright. However, she could also sense his unwillingness to accept her as his friend and as his Alpha. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to be his Alpha, but she did want him as her friend and it hurt. It was going to take everything to assure him that she wasn't going anywhere. It didn't help that she had hurt him in her anger, but he was truly fine with it. Idiot.

Her idiot. Her lovable idiot. Her lovable oaf with a great sense of humor, a great smile, great cooking skills and he smelled great. He made her feel safe.

Fuck. Was she falling for him?

After he closed the door and got into the passenger seat, she looked up the school on her phone's navigation system and started to drive there. "I can't wait to learn more about the type of vampire she is, or about the magic! It's likely going to be an infodump again but you know what? That's fine," she started after Isaac remained quiet. "She seems like a nice person too."

"She shoved me against the truck. I'll have to inspect it for dents. Again."

Bella let out a snort. "Relax, I would likely have done the same thing if I had been in her shoes. You know, in small towns like these it's best to be friendly with the neighbors, it's the only way for them to accept you as a new resident, despite the fact that we're working for the person who's made a generous donation to the town to rebuild. And seeing that she's a supernatural, and likely a force to be reckoned with, we're going to be friendly. Help each other out and shit. They might have resources we could use, and vice versa, especially once we're established and all that. Also, they're potential customers to the restaurant."

"I get it," he said as he pulled his sleeves over his hands. "Doesn't mean that I'm happy about it."

Bella thought for a moment and then shook her head. "You know what? You're ubersocial on a job, and likely when you're doing food truck business. Get that guy out to play and ignore all that negativity," she shot at him. "I might just buy a nerf gun and shoot you with it whenever you say something negative, until you say something positive. Some therapists use that method, it's a good method. Cognitive Behavioural therapy. Yes. Totally going to buy that nerf gun. Should be fun!"

"There's nothing fun about getting hit by tiny foam darts!"

"Nope, so you'd better get working on that negativity of yours," she mused as she pulled up on the driveway of _The Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted_. She wondered if there was an old, bald man in a wheelchair inside that house or see people walk through walls or something. But then again, from what she knew it was a school for the supernatural kids, werewolves, witches... So what if this Alaric guy was an old guy with a very luscious beard with a preference to Gryffindor?

The sun had only started to rise, and most of the house was still darkened, but there was a porch light on and a little light in front of one of the windows. Parking the car and pocketing the keys - Isaac was not going to get to drive today, nope, she got out and waited for Isaac to make his way out. At least he moved better and his face looked less blue, so if they'd encounter children, they wouldn't be that scared off by him. No doubt his face would improve over breakfast.

"Hi!" Caroline came out of the house, greeting them. "For a moment there I thought you wouldn't come by!"

"Don't be ridiculous," Bella smiled at her. "I always keep my word, besides, it's not as if it's hard to track where we are, I'm sure you would have come to us instead."

She grinned then as she looped her arm through Bella's. "I think you and I are going to be great friends! God, I missed hanging out with friends! Oh, I hope you don't mind, but we're actually having breakfast with most of the staff before the kids wake up and have their breakfast."

"The more the merrier," Isaac replied, some lightness having returned in his voice which came as a relief to Bella. "This house is amazing!"

"Yeah, it used to have seven bedrooms, a large den, and a kitchen, and we've rebuilt it all so we made some room for classrooms and offices. Still, we're small time. Especially after the hunters came out of the woodwork, parents don't trust us to keep their children safe. But this house is spelled by witches against any intruders, I'm a vampire, we have a former hunter, a witch and two very resourceful humans on staff. There's no place safer for the kids than here," Caroline said proudly as she led them to the small kitchen. "And on occasion we get guest lecturers over from New Orleans. That's always quite interesting."

Bella let out a chuckle. "Up until a month ago all I knew about the supernatural community were Cold Ones and shifter wolves. Maybe I should attend your school."

"You're a little old for that, aren't you?" Caroline replied playfully. "Guys, this is Bella, and that's Isaac. They're the ones knocking down the Grill and I've been promised something beautiful is coming in their place by their boss."

"It's about time you two show your face here," a man said as he approached them, hand extended. "Alaric Saltzman, History and Occult teacher, good to meet you."

"Jeremy Gilbert," a younger boy said as he was stuffing his face with a sandwich. "Gym teacher, amongst other things."

The other human introduced himself as Dorian and the witch introduced herself as Jeri. The only other person in the room was someone who was dressed quite colorful. "Myriam Jenkins. Here to give a few lectures about voodoo before I go back to New Orleans to the ol' ball and chain," Myriam then approached Bella and Isaac and blinked at them. "You're one of those other werewolves, aren't you? You're not like any of the packs we know of… no transforming into wolves or ponies, do you?"

Isaac didn't like this. He hated not knowing what he had gotten himself into and this time it had been Bella's fault. He tugged on his sweater so he had something to hold onto.

"No, from what I have learned is that our type of werewolf can only turn into a real wolf when they're evolved. My birth mother was one of those."

"Holy shit, you're another of Tatia Hale?" Alaric blinked at Bella, interest piqued. "No offense, but your siblings are kinda a bunch of dicks."

"I know," Bella nodded. "You knew my mother?"

"I know _of_ her, and what she did for your community. It's kinda hard not to have stumbled on her during my research on the occult and supernatural, she made big waves."

"Please, sit," Caroline let go of Bella at an empty chair. "So you're basically werewolf royalty, huh?"

"I guess?" Bella said as she sat down and looked at Isaac long enough to have him sit down between Alaric and Myriam. "I don't know. I met them a few weeks ago, but I felt safer with Isaac so I went with him and joined his cause. He saved me from a bunch of Cold Ones after his boss sent him to me."

While Isaac understood that Bella wanted to give cliffnotes, he found it annoying that she was already so open about herself towards these strangers. They didn't have to know this. He and Bella were merely the new supernaturals in town, trying to do some good and that's it. And it sucked that he was sitting with his back towards the door. It made it harder to get to an exit this way.

"Meredith told us about the donation your boss Peter made to the town. It's really going to make a difference," Alaric was appreciative. "Just to have the old center restored again would do so much for the community. We could hold parades again, movies on the square… Everything that makes a small town great."

"Yeah, we can't wait to tear down the Mystic Grill and the accompanying building and build something everyone can use. Like a bowling alley, a party place, you know."

"And a bed and breakfast, and a restaurant," Bella added with a nod. "Isaac's a trained chef."

"Really? Oh my God, that's amazing!" Caroline said excitedly. "Are you any good? We should definitely come to dinner then! Hey, what about you cook for us some time before construction is complete?"

"Yeah, sure," Isaac replied casually. "Could be fun."

Myriam hummed a little. "So if you're going to be running all of that, with just the two of you… that's a lot of work. Will you hire people to help you out?"

"Yeah, we likely will have to. Peter will leave the running business to us and while I have some experience with the food truck, I have no idea how to run a business. I'm a cook, I don't do books… although that's not the most important thing. The business will be a front so we can help supernaturals."

"So you'll just have to hire competent people to run your day to day business," Myriam mused. "Back in the day I ran a brothel, shouldn't be any different from taking bookings for a bed and breakfast. I could help you out until you find someone better?"

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Myr, Klaus will want to have you back eventually, you know."

"I'll go home in the school holidays. With Hope," she smirked. "You always complain about having not enough friends anymore."

Bella thought for a moment as she observed Isaac's face, there had been a slight scrunch of the nose, he didn't like the idea, but Bella did. "I was thinking about doing some online management courses and shit, all the help is welcome. That is, if it's not having an impact on your relationship."

Myriam huffed then. "Klaus and I have been together for centuries, and sometimes we take a break. It doesn't mean that the love isn't there, or the sex any less. In fact, it gets better."

She blinked then. "I thought you were a voodoo priestess?"

"I was when I was human and I still am as a vampire. Just differently, because the natural magic is gone. But I stand by my faith and find my ways to make it work. There are objects that can help you do magic even if you don't possess it yourself," Myriam shrugged. "And it's really not a bother. I like to keep busy anyway and I don't need to get paid, either. I won't let you down."

"But no prostitutes."

"Please," Myriam huffed. "Those days are far behind me, I've got class now!"

It was nice to have breakfast with people who were nice and kind. Open. Bella could see them become friends quite easily and was certain that if Peter believed it to be a bad idea, he'd say something about it. But until then, Bella was happy to have found people to hang around with other than Isaac.

After breakfast, she and Isaac were shown around and then the kids started to wake up and heading to the breakfast hall and Isaac and Bella left. After she had parked the car back in the parking spot near their hotel, she headed into the kitchen and got out a knife, stabbing herself in the hand, much to Isaac's surprise. "What? You told me we'd test it today after we got back… fuck, it hurts like a mother fucker!" She said as she pulled the knife out and miraculously watched her hand heal. The blood was disgusting, but she managed not to vomit. "See? I heal now, so no more putting me aside when things get dangerous!"

"Couldn't you at least have waited until _I_ was prepared?" Isaac was slightly panicked as he grabbed a damp towel and cleaned off her hand. "Jesus fuck, Bella, I don't like seeing you get hurt. The sparring that we do is to make sure you don't get hurt and now you hurt yourself!"

"To prove a point and test a theory," she pointed out. "Ease up, Isaac. I'm not fragile anymore. I know my way around guns, although I might be slightly rusty so we'll have to practise that, and likely find a place to do that far out of town where nobody can hear us in case people freak out or something. Now, about the nerf gun… I'm really thinking I should buy one."

"Don't be ridiculous," Isaac rolled his eyes at her and after making sure her hand was fully healed, he dumped the cloth in the bin. "And I understand how you're feeling, Bella, all that power and stuff, it's great. But please do remind yourself that you're not indestructible. We can be killed, you know. All it takes is one unaware moment and it's lights out. I don't plan on seeing you die because it's not what you deserve."

"Damn straight, but the same goes for you. So, you're going to teach me everything you know."

"We're kinda busy with-"

"We're not busy, I mean, we have to wait for the demolition vampires to come, right? And we won't have to help them tear it all down. Nor do we have to help with building things because we'll only be in the way," she pointed out. "You're going to train me. Every spare moment that we have. Teach me the code you and Chris Argent live by."

"Is that what you truly want?"

"Yes. And don't hold back, either."


	14. Chapter 14

It took three months for the vampires to demolish the building, dig out the long maze-like tunnel that Peter had requested in the direction of Mason Neck, a long 24 miles away from Mystic Falls and to build the entire new buildings on top of them. And, before they could truly open, Peter said he'd come by to show them what exactly was at the end of the tunnels and that excited Bella to no end.

For the last three months, Isaac had taught Bella everything he knew about the use of weapons, what weapons to use in what kind of situation, to become a fighter and get more strength. He helped her focus her werewolf strength into something she could use to her advantage in fights. Isaac told her about the history of the hunter's code, especially the one from Beacon Hills and how it had changed after certain family members didn't stick to the code and because Chris and Allison Argent didn't agree with the code anymore due to their friends being supernaturals. How it changed from 'we hunt those who hunt us' to 'we protect those who can't protect themselves' and how it was all inclusive. Humans and supernatural.

He told her everything about how the hunters came to be that were now hunting supernaturals. How yes, technically they were still abiding by the first, original, code, they were deluded and influenced by some of the Argents, still a powerful family amongst the hunters. The world was black and white to them, there weren't any good supernaturals. Everyone had to die. He also said that the mess in Beacon Hills was partially responsible for this new group of hunters, mostly innocent victims and bystanders from what had gone down there. There was revenge involved now.

Isaac had left the hunters in France because he didn't want to become a hunter, but a chef, and also because the whole atmosphere changed within the community - and towards him. Chris' ward or not, Isaac was still a well-behaved werewolf. He'd been disappointed when he hadn't been contacted by Scott to help him out four years ago and only found out that Scott was now trying to help others to protect them from the hunters from Peter Whitlock.

And Peter, with his big ass ego, decided that they could do better. And they could. They had more resources, more safehouses, more of everything, and they weren't as careless as Scott and his pack.

During the three months of construction and planning things out, Isaac also took Bella to a handful of food truck festivals in the region, and it was so much fun to attend! The whole atmosphere was amazing, buzzing, a lot of talented people with their trucks, people who came to get food, and the amount of people coming to get food, too… it was crazy. Isaac seemed to thrive under pressure, and his food was spectacular now that he had started to relax somewhat after their visit to that small restaurant in the city nearby Mystic Falls.

And in every town they went, they helped out some supernaturals. Things got particularly hairy in Roanoke. The festival was crawling with hunters letting their hair down. Isaac believed he recognized at least two of them from his time in France, which caused some more anxiety in him. It didn't help, of course, that they had stumbled upon a flutter of fairies that needed their help in staying safe.

Yes. Fairies. Who knew they existed? And that they were called a flutter?! They looked like ordinary humans, but with magical abilities. What set them apart from 'regular' witches was that their abilities were different. More subtle. It was strange to find fairies in America, but their ancestors once came from Ireland. But like most supernatural species, they had moved on from their malignant ways, and all they wanted now was to live in peace. It didn't mean that all fairies were now benign and/or using their powers for good, but at least these were.

Isaac managed to get them transport to a wooded area in Arkansas where more fairies lived and almost got caught by a group of hunters who had found the fairies' location. He was fairly sure that they had seen him, so they left without riding out the festival.

It was strange to run through the 24-mile tunnel, there were some lights, sure, but it was mostly darkness. There was enough room for a golf cart, which Isaac said that would come because most supernaturals didn't have their speed or perhaps their stamina to make the journey on foot. The beginning of the tunnel was a maze. Peter had told them that it would lead underneath the entire town with no way out, with a handful of boobytraps for hunters should they overrun the B&B or something. There was also a connection to a tunnel that headed straight to the Salvatore School, protected by magic.

At the end of the tunnel, they found a farm, a huge farm with cows, horses, sheep… and a lot of forest around the property. It was sitting close to Belmont Bay with a handful of speedboats at the small harbor they had created. There were several buildings on site, small houses where supernaturals could live in peace, hideout, and one major building and that's where Bella got the surprise of her life.

Inside the house was Jasper Whitlock.

Bella wasn't quite sure how to react to that. She felt rage flare up inside of her, and if it hadn't been for Isaac's hand on her arm, she'd likely have attacked the vampire without hearing what he had to say. What the hell he was doing here. The Cullens couldn't possibly be involved, could they? She turned to Peter instead, rage still burning inside of her. Well, it was a good thing that Jasper didn't try to influence her. "What the hell! What is this, Peter? Are you working for them?!"

"Calm down, peaches," Peter said as he held up his hands and made sure to move between the werewolf and his brother. "Jasper needed our help, too. It took him a bit longer than it took you as I didn't have a werewolf at hand to wean him off without any side effects. Seems like the charm also works on other Cold Ones."

"The fuck?!"

"It was time to get him out too, I couldn't see him with those squirrell munchers for longer, Bella," Peter said calmly. "Believe me, he has the same urges you have towards the Cullens now that he's free of them. Don't hurt him. He's a great asset to our cause."

Bella shrugged Isaac's hand off of her arm and punched Peter instead. It was definitely worth having her bones break in her hand, and she felt a lot better. "He's not going anywhere near me!"

"No, he and I will be staying here at the farm, the animals need to be taken care of, anyway. I'll be the only one who will occasionally show his face in Mystic Falls. That's all you two," Peter said kindly. "I've heard you've made some friends?"

They had been having regular dinner dates with the people at the Salvatore school, Bella even went to Richmond a few times with Caroline for a girl's day out which involved shopping and a spa day. She liked hearing the stories Caroline told her about living in Mystic Falls. The good and the bad. Isaac's information about the town had been enough for them to settle, but to hear everything? It was a miracle that the town was still inhabited. They really did persevere. And Myriam was going to come back somewhere the following week, Caroline assured her that the older vampire was good people.

"You're not going to mess with them," Bella replied eventually as she gently massaged her broken hand. "Don't ruin them."

"I promise we'll stay well clear of them," Peter said with a knowing smile. "I take it that everything is built and placed to your satisfaction?" He looked at Isaac then, who nodded in return. "Good, then I hope you'll enjoy yourselves! Because that's what it's about. Enjoyment and helping others, right? I'll let you know when I hear something about trouble, but you'll likely find it yourself first."

"For what it's worth, I'm really so-"

"Save it," Bella snapped at Jasper before looking back at Peter. "That's it?"

Peter let out a breath and shrugged. "You and Isaac run the show, Bella. All I'm here for is funding and giving your saved supernaturals whose lives are in critical danger a safe place to stay. All I want is to work together. Live your own life. You haven't been bothered in the last few months, have you?"

Bella sighed and shook her head. "Thank you."

After Bella and Isaac had left and were well out of earshot, Jasper smacked Peter up on his head. "Are you insane?"

"What?"

"Tell me the truth, were ya dropped on your head as a baby? Did Char cause some permanent brain damage?" He questioned his brother. "Ya mean well, and I can feel potential between them, but seriously?"

Peter sighed as he looked at his partner in crime. "What?"

"That boy ain't equipped to deal with Bella's rage! He likely rolls over for her to scratch his belly when she's being a spitfire!"

"They've been fine so far, Jazz," Peter replied calmly. "I wouldn't have sent him in if I didn't think it was a good idea. In fact, he seemed to be doing a lot better than he was before. Bella's slowly breaking down the walls he's put up, and he seems to be able to balance her out. She _could_ have dismembered you, but she didn't."

"And what about him actively rejecting her?"

"Walls. He's afraid that once he lets her in, she'll hurt him like they had done to him in the past. And she's an Alpha without a pack, and he's an omega without a pack. He always said he was fine without a pack. I can understand his reluctance and his rejection, but he's working through it. I wouldn't worry about them, Jazz."

"That's a nuclear bomb waiting to go off," he said as he pointed in the direction of the tunnel. "Whatever happens, the fall out is on you and your smart ass brain. You might be wrong this time."

"I'm never wrong," Peter said smugly before turning on his heel and going back to feed the horses.

~o.O.o~

It was the grand opening of the Mystic Night Owl, and Caroline had made sure to make a party out of it for the entire town, and about 100 people showed up for the festivities. Isaac wasn't freaked out by it. As Bella showed them around and brought them to the entertainment area, he was cooking up a storm; making tiny sandwiches, cutting the lasagnas he made into bite-sized pieces and adjusted more meals that he had planned on making because, in all honesty, they hadn't expected this kind of a turnout.

But by the end of the night, after everyone went home, Bella couldn't help but smile widely after locking up and walking into Isaac's domain - the kitchen and helped him clean up. "All in all, everyone's really positive about this. Especially the young people, the teenagers, who still live here. They have some entertainment again!"

"Maybe we should add an extra room set up with like game consoles," Isaac responded as he refilled the industrial dishwasher. His clothes were drenched in sweat, and his hair was sticking to his forehead. "But to tell you the truth, I'm quite happy that our restaurant only seats 50, that we have a set menu and shit like that. I don't think I can handle 100 at the same time."

Bella huffed. "You do food truck festivals. You can do more than 100 at once, but did you at least have fun?"

"Yeah," he smiled at her. "So positivity all around?"

"They loved it," she went over to hug him, sweaty or not, he deserved a hug. "And the food was amazing, but I wouldn't have expected anything else. Your improvisation skills are the best!"

"Good," he let out a breath as he let go of her to continue cleaning up the last bits. "Glad this is out of the way. Who knew so many people would come? This is a town of 500 citizens!"

"Yep, a good 1/5th of the population. We should be proud!"

"How can you be sure that Caroline didn't just compel them all?"

"Oh, party pooper," Bella rolled her eyes at him. "I trust her enough not to have done that, she wants to have this town rebuild as much as everyone else, why mess with people's minds to do so? Have a little faith, will you? Stop thinking so negatively about people. This was a huge success, Isaac, and you ruined a perfectly good day with that remark," she said a little bit hurt. "You can be such a jerk! But have fun cleaning up, I'm going to bed."

Was he truly a jerk for doubting Caroline's intentions? She had the ability to influence so many people, why shouldn't she do it to make Bella and him feel more welcomed into the town? Or maybe Caroline didn't do anything, and all those people came out of curiosity. Because they had hope.

He had almost forgotten what that felt like; hope. If it weren't for Bella, he would have given up on it. Because while he didn't want to let her in completely, he still had hope that she wouldn't leave. And she'd been around him for four months now, and no matter how much of an asshole he'd been, she was still here. She wasn't like the others; she was different, and he knew this. He felt it. She had managed to get some control out of him and made it her own project, simply because she'd wanted to do something.

And not because she was an Alpha, but he truly felt that she wouldn't intentionally hurt him. She wouldn't accept him as her beta anyway, but the least he could do was to accept the fact that she was staying.

Looking around the kitchen, there were still a few things that needed cleaning, but nothing that couldn't wait until the next day. He needed to go and have a talk with Bella. And apologize. Because today had been a good day. Something good had happened to them. He threw the towel into a corner and bounded up the stairs to the shared apartment they had on the third floor where he found Bella in their kitchenette, pouring herself a glass of wine. "Hey, uhm… I'm sorry for what I said."

"What? For blaming Caroline for the great turn out today? Yeah, you should be sorry," she said as she took a big gulp of her wine. "Caroline is a strong, smart and amazing friend. Pure," Bella let out a snort as she took both the glass and bottle to the couch with her. Werewolves couldn't get drunk, but that wouldn't stop her from trying her best to get drunk anyway. "She's a majestic unicorn, and sure, at first I thought she was pretending, but fuck, Isaac, she's pure of heart, they don't make people like her anymore. She's loyal to a fault and has a big heart. To accuse her - not even in her face - to do something like that? That's ridiculous, and you should be ashamed of yourself."

"I am," he said as he sat down on the table in front of her. "I am. Because I realized that all of this is likely giving people hope again for this town and that they were curious. For them to be positive… is the best compliment someone could get, I suppose. And I'm sorry that I made this day end on a sour note for you."

Bella smiled then. "You truly mean it, huh?"

"I do," he nodded. "And I'm sorry for being an asshole to you from time to time. I… uh… did that to protect me… sort of… you see, uh…" he ran a hand through his damp hair and averted his gaze. "I thought you'd leave. By trying to create some distance between us… at least from my point of view… I wanted to make sure that it wouldn't hurt if you'd left…"

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not going anywhere?" He looked at her with his beautiful blue eyes, and Bella could tell something had changed. Had he honestly seen the light?

"I see that now. So I'm sorry for that. I promise to be more… open about… stuff. Less of the pushing away."

She placed a hand on his cheek and gently caressed it. "I like being with you, Isaac. I want to be with you and have all these adventures and fun. I mean, we're running this B&B together. We're making some great friends! Why would I want to leave you? You're funny, you're wickedly talented at cooking, and you work hard. You're patient and kind. And you can be a lot of a jerk, which sucks."

"I promise, I'll be less of a jerk. At least to you."

Bella let out a snort as she gently tapped his cheek before nursing her glass of wine again. "You smell."

"Ah, so would you if you'd been in the kitchen all day," he said with a grin, but getting the message. He got to his feet and started to pull off his shirt as he headed to his bedroom. "Save me some wine."

"We have plenty downstairs!"

"That's for our guests… unless you stole that one from downstairs?"

"We didn't go for groceries yet!" Well, they had, to stock the kitchen for the bed and breakfast as the suppliers hadn't been able to get to them in time due to roadworks. But for their personal shopping? No, they had completely forgotten in the excitement to finally open to the public.

Isaac let out a groan. Luckily, Peter didn't care much for the books, and neither should he. Peter had enough money, even if the Owl wouldn't make a profit or break even. "Save me some wine anyway!"


	15. Chapter 15

Oh, Bella so much appreciated the way Isaac tried to let her in. It was a lot easier to be around him now, and he was significantly happier, much like a puppy. Whenever she had time, he invited her to come and join him in the kitchen where he was trying to perfect things while making things less perfect and it made his food even better.

And while it would take some time to have guests staying over, the restaurant was usually quite busy during the weekend, and during the week people would come for lunch. Some people even came from out of town, and it didn't take them long to find out why; Peter had put advertisements in just about any newspaper he could find and one in the magazine for travel lovers and foodies.

Bella and Isaac hired some of the local youth for waiting tables, and he was still looking for people to help him in the kitchen. Myriam came to work for them a month after they had opened, bringing along with her a fully paid management course for Bella as an opening gift from her and her boyfriend, Klaus.

Bella wasn't sure what was going on, but she sure loved not having to think about money, even though she didn't have much herself and, like Isaac, were paid a wage, but whatever they wanted they could get. It was stress-free and liberating. And it was all because Isaac had finally let her in and had made her truly feel that they were a team now.

The mayor hadn't waited for the rebuilding of the town's centre and infrastructure after receiving the money in the city's bank account. There were workers in town all day, and they happily sat outside the B&B while Isaac fed them lunch - they didn't want the inside of the new and beautiful building to become as dirty as they were.

Things were really shaping up, and Bella couldn't be happier.

But of course, they were running this B&B as a business and as a front for helping other supernaturals, and it had been a few busy nights in the kitchen for Isaac due to a group of foodies dropping by to test the waters. Bella had believed he had gone to sleep immediately after hitting the bed, but even she woke up from his phone ringing in the middle of the night. She had heard Isaac's door open, so she followed the gesture from her own room, and he was talking to someone on the phone in the living room. "Oh, did I wake you?"

"Your annoying ringtone did," Bella replied as she put a small light on and leaned against the counter. He was still dressed in his dirty clothes and didn't look sleepy. What had he been doing all this time?

"No, Chris, it's fine," Isaac replied as he ran a hand through his hair. "I know Peter said that but I'm not going to drive them all the way to California, you know. No, don't worry, I'll take care of it. Yeah. If you don't believe me, call Peter. Send me the address," he said as he disconnected the call and looked at Bella. "Uhh… hunters got wind of a werewolf family in West Virginia. Mom, dad, two kids. Mom and dad died protecting their children and the kids called Argent for help. We're closer. The kids are running towards the border towards Virginia, Orkney Springs. They're safe, for now, but you know…"

Bella thought for a moment and nodded. "Give me two minutes to get dressed, and you should get changed too, you smell like food and sweat, and I don't like sitting in a car with a stinky. They can wait for two more minutes since we need to drive for a bit too."

It was still dark when they arrived at Orkney Springs two hours later, but the little town was being lit up by people walking around with flashlights and cameras. "Now, remember, our eyes glow when people take pictures of us. Let's try to avoid them all together," he reminded Bella as he took a handgun and handed it to her before grabbing his own. "Let's hope we don't need them."

"They are hunting people like us, shouldn't they like, die?" Bella muttered.

"And that will likely have things escalate even further. No thanks," he said as he got out of the truck. He had parked a block away from the address Chris had sent him for safety reasons. "Bella, they will kill on sight. When they find out you're a wolf, they will be able to subdue you and kill you. And no, I'm not overly cautious or overprotective."

"You told me as you were teaching me for the last 4 months, Isaac. I know the dangers. The risks," she checked the gun over before grabbing a holster to holster it for safety. "You've taught me well, don't worry about it."

He looked at her as he locked the truck. "I've never seen this much activity with hunters. It's usually a couple, sure, but it looks like all the groups have come together for this."

"You're scared?"

"And you should be too," he replied as he pushed his hands in his pockets to look somewhat casual before he headed in the direction of the house the two kids were hiding out in. "Despite Chris calling me, this could very well be a trap. The hunters don't know yet that there are new players in the saving game and I had hoped it would stay that way. So yeah, this could be a trap for Scott." He stopped for a moment, contemplating whether or not he should get another weapon on him.

"And what if it's not and those two kids are in danger?" Bella looped her arm through Isaac's as she pulled him along with him. "Yes, we'll be careful, but don't think the worst of things just because there are so many hunters in a small town."

"In situations like these you _should_ think of the worst things that can happen," he muttered as he allowed himself to be pulled along, keeping a careful watch over their surroundings while still appearing casual. No one normal would be up this early to take a walk, and of course, he and Bella were going to look suspicious.

They made it to the house in one piece and undetected alright, but from what he could see through the kitchen window, the children weren't alone. They were with adults with guns and from what he could tell, the front door was booby-trapped, no doubt the back door was too. He pulled Bella down to the ground. "Told you, trap!" He hissed at her.

"But those kids!"

"Yes, no doubt they're in real danger," he said as he pulled a smoke grenade out of his coat pocket.

"When did you have time to pocket that?"

He smirked at her before getting to his feet, smashing the window and tossed the grenade inside the house before quickly moving to kick down the door. "Stay behind me and follow me," he told her before getting inside, quickly taking care of the first two hunters and Bella knocked another unconscious. He then lost her during the scuffle while he grabbed the frightened kids.

Bella coughed as she followed Isaac out, grabbing hold of his belt. "Go," she said as she kept a hold of him as he moved, she had her gun out as they retreated, just in case, but she was confident that the hunters inside that house were all unconscious. With a little luck, they would make it back to the van in one piece. That is if they didn't immediately call for backup after Isaac threw the smoke grenade.

She was tripping over her feet, glad that she was holding onto Isaac and that she was now a werewolf. She would have fallen flat on her face before. She strained her ears like Isaac had taught her to so that she could hear the approaching boots on the ground should they come even closer, but for now, they needed to hurry and get the kids out of here.

Bella felt a stabbing pain in her side, but the sensation was strange, it was already healing. Okay, so _maybe_ she had thought too lightly about this and Isaac wasn't actually exaggerating. She was scared out of her wits now, the boots were getting closer, and they were slowed down by the crying kids who were being ushered by Isaac. She let go of Isaac and picked up the smaller child while still having her gun aimed behind her. "Pick him up, they're coming, hurry!"

Isaac started to laugh as he picked up the boy and pushed Bella out in front of him. "Come on, Bella, live a little!"

"Fuck you, Lahey, I'm hurt!"

He knew she was hurt. Likely stabbed with a knife, he could smell her blood and smell her fear. He had warned her, before, but she wouldn't want to listen, maybe this would have taught her a lesson. "I'll check you over once we get the hell out of here, okay?"

Bella huffed as she saw one of the hunters turn around the corner and shot them in their leg, causing them to fall over and fumble for their weapon. "Hurry up!" Bella snapped as she tried to go faster than she'd already been going. "I swear, next time you're going by yourself, I'll stay home!"

Once everyone was inside the truck, Isaac drove away quickly, making sure not to head for Mystic Falls directly. He kept looking in his mirrors to make sure that they weren't being followed as he drove them off. "You all okay back there?"

Bella had given the kids something to snack on, to drown their fears or something, and was checking out her cut with her back turned to them. It had stopped hurting as much, and the gash was already closing up. "You fucking owe me a new shirt."

~o.O.o~

The kids stayed at their B&B for a couple of days until a relative came to pick them up and take them as far away from the hunter hotspots as possible. Bella was still reeling from the experience, though, and had started to question her decision to help Isaac. She wanted to stay, but would he be okay with it if she'd stayed back?

"No matter how badass you are, no matter how much you've learned, it's something entirely different if you end up in a violent situation, isn't it, boss?" Myriam piped up as she sat down opposite her at the table in the restaurant as Bella was going over the books. "Oh, I wanted to speak up sooner, but I figured you weren't up for the conversation."

Bella sighed as she closed the book. "You're a vampire, isn't violence kinda your thing?"

"So is being a werewolf," Myriam pointed out. "However, you can choose not to put yourself in situations that you feel uncomfortable with. I was human before I became a vampire, you know," she smiled at her. "And I'm leaving most of the fighting and protecting to my boyfriend and his family. It doesn't make me weak or fall into the traditional female role, you know. Because I do like a good kill. I just stopped joining him on his fights because eventually, stuff gets to you."

"I was scared shitless," she muttered the reply. "I thought Isaac was overreacting when he trained me, but… I'm a cop's daughter, I'm supposed to… you know… I'm a big bad werewolf."

Myriam placed her hand on top of Bella's and gently squeezed it. "Staying home when you think it might be too much for you to handle is not a crime."

"But I can't send him out there on his own!"

"Looks to me that he's been doing that for a very long time and he's been doing fine."

Bella huffed. "Yeah sure."

"You're not weak or giving up when you stay behind to hold down the fort. What if you get more protectees? I mean, I'm a vampire, sure, but even I can't take on a group of hunters at once," Myriam shrugged. "Besides, there's nothing wrong to stay home, period. Waiting for your man to come home after a battle, take care of him…"

"He's not my man!"

"Are you sure? I mean, the way you two move around each other speaks volumes."

"He's not. Jesus fuck, I'm one of his special projects, remember? I've only been away from my boyfriend and his family for a few months and-"

Myriam started to laugh. "You're blushing ever so slightly, and your heart beats a little bit faster… you have feelings for him. Ah, don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

Bella sighed as she withdrew her hand and folded both of them in her lap. "He's complicated."

"Aren't all men? But at least it looks like you're making progress with him, right? I mean… I had the same thing with Klaus. He saved me all those years ago from a situation that was… well, let's say that it wasn't a pleasant one. And he didn't know what to do with me, because I told him that I wanted to stay with him. I was scared of the world, and the man who saved me made me feel… well, safe," Myriam said carefully. "Like you, I was Klaus' protectee, and on top of that a brand new vampire with anger issues. He had his hands full with me, but he always approached things clinically, from a distance. Almost as if he didn't want me to get any closer. Trust issues."

"How long did it take you to, you know…"

"Twenty-five years."

Bella's jaw fell open. "Twenty-five years? Myr, we're werewolves and may have a longer lifespan as humans, but we're still mortal! I'm not going to wait that long! My patience isn't even that long!"

"Ah, but those years gave me experience, and I can help you with helping him," Myriam winked at her. "To make sure it won't take you that long, so you two have enough time to make some puppies together."

"But he'll be alone in the field if I stay here, I don't want him to be alone, Myriam. I mean, he's great at what he does, he's a true soldier and all, but if things are as bad as this, he can't do everything by himself."

"Well, he likes Jeremy, doesn't he?"

She wasn't sure about Isaac liking Jeremy, but Jeremy came over a few times to play video games with Isaac, or they'd go for a run in the morning. "I think so."

"Jeremy used to be a special kind of hunter, and honestly, his talents are wasted at magic school. You could suggest to Isaac to have Jeremy join him when he goes out and tell him why you think he's a better fit."

"But I don't want to disappoint him."

"I don't think he will be, but you'll never know until you sit down and have a talk with him."

She sighed. "Right."

~o.O.o~

They were watching some comedy on Netflix with a good bottle of wine and some snacks that had been left over from the high-tea that Isaac had served that afternoon to a bunch of executives out of Richmond. Bella liked their evenings of decompression, especially after their rescue mission. It was nice and comfortable. Easy. Relaxing. But, she needed to talk to Isaac after her talk with Myriam.

She let out a sigh and paused the movie. "Can we talk?"

"Don't we always talk?"

"Yeah… but… this is different."

"Ohh," Isaac said playfully as he put his glass down and shifted, so he was more comfortable and looking at her with a curious look on his face. "This oughta be good!"

"Goofball," she let out a snort and shook her head. "I know that I've been basically pushing you to train me to come along with you… and I hate for you have wasted your time on me and…"

"Hey," he interrupted her and took her hand. "My time is not wasted on you. Ever. I liked teaching you new tricks."

"Yeah, okay, your time was not wasted. Got it. But…"

"You found it was a little bit extreme when we rescued those kids?"

"A bit… and it's probably not that way all the time. Things could be worse or easier, it's not for me. Is it okay to stay here and hold down the fort with Myriam instead?"

He softly kissed her hand. "Of course, Bella. You can do whatever you want, and holding down the fort is just as important."

"You're not angry or disappointed?"

"Why would I be, Bella?" He smiled at her. "I've been doing this for years, by myself and the occasional assist from Peter. It's not for everyone, and that shouldn't be taken the wrong way. Your talents lie elsewhere. You can protect yourself, and I fully believe that you can hold down the fort when we have guests over that need our protection."

"It's that easy?" she laughed. "Seriously? I thought you'd be a bit more… anal about it."

"If anything, I'm glad you've decided to stay behind. It's not easy out there."

"No, I know. Which brings me to the next thing I want to talk to you about," she said as she scooted up closer to him. "You shouldn't be doing this alone. What if you get hurt during one of the future rescues? You could risk being killed or taken, or you know…"

He pulled her into his arms, so she was leaning against him with her back. They often watched TV like this, it was comforting and nice. And he hated it, but he was really trying to get that out of his mind; Bella wasn't going anywhere. She was allowed in. "Peter's a walking disco ball in daylight, and I can't see who else we can ask."

"So you're not opposed to the idea then?" She looked up to him, his face close to hers, her heart skipped a beat. Oh, she wanted to kiss him badly.

"No. Why, you have someone in mind?"

"Well, we've made some friends here. Like Jeremy Gilbert. He used to be a supernatural hunter, a mystical one. He's had training, and he might even think like you. You like him, don't you?"

He thought for a moment about his running partner. He had considered him before, to make a group out of him and Bella, but he had been under the impression that the fighting days were well behind Jeremy. "You think he's open to this?"

"You never know until you ask him," she gently pat him on his arm and got the remote to unpause their movie. "So you're going to ask him?"

"Can I consider asking him?"

"No."

"Then I will ask him."

"Good," Bella smiled as she settled against him again, letting out a deep, content sigh.


	16. Chapter 16

Bella found it incredibly endearing to watch Isaac stand in front of a class of children. He looked so uncomfortable, it was hilarious. Bella didn't even know that magic school had Parents Day, a day where the parents of the children could visit the school and sit in on classes to see what their kids were learning. And Isaac didn't like the idea of having parents in his class. But, here they were.

Caroline had asked Isaac to do a guest lecture on their kind of werewolf to show the children that the supernatural world was more significant than they thought it was, and that was a month ago. She had failed to mention Parents Day, and she had failed to mention that Myriam's boyfriend Klaus was going to be there, too.

And apparently, Isaac found him quite intimidating, Bella could tell. It was that she was standing next to Klaus and Myriam; otherwise Isaac wouldn't have dared to look to the back of the class to engage everyone. After he was done, he didn't know how fast he had to get out of that classroom to get a breather, which Myriam and Bella found hilarious. "Hey man, you did great. Wasn't so hard now, was it?" Jeremy laughed as he caught up with his friend.

"I'd rather take my chances with a live grenade," Isaac muttered as he let out a deep breath. "On Parents Day, really?"

"Well, we have to charm the parents, don't we? And you have quite the charm," Caroline smiled as she joined them. "Those haunted, innocent blue eyes of yours…" she then ran her hand through his hair. "That hair… and that scruff…"

"Hey," Bella swatted Caroline's hand away from Isaac, who looked even more spooked. "Ask before you touch." She then turned to Klaus as he and Myriam joined them. "And you! Stop intimidating him!"

Klaus blinked at her. "I'm not doing anything, love."

Bella stared him down, her red eyes flashing briefly. "Turn it off."

"Aw, she's asking you to turn off your sex appeal," Myriam purred as she looped her arm through Klaus' and took a few steps closer. "Doesn't she know that that's impossible?" She whispered in his ear.

It was Bella's turn to blink in surprise. It was almost as if Myriam was a completely different person around her boyfriend. "I think you two should get yourself a room at our B&B," she eventually remarked.

Klaus smiled amused at his lover before looking at Bella. "Oh yes, Myriam told me the beds were quite comfortable. Would you like to join us?"

Caroline and Jeremy had taken a few steps back and were now leaning against the wall, looking utterly bored, but this behavior was something Isaac and Bella had to go through to find out for themselves.

Isaac stopped sulking long enough to look up and narrow his eyes on the hybrid. "Do you mind?"

"Well, it's not like you have a claim on her, mate. Not from what I've heard, she's fair game and Myriam and I _love_ an adventure!"

Bella stared at the nearly millennia old man, her mouth gaping like a fish, speechless. Isaac, on the other hand, while knowing he couldn't go up against with someone with as much experience as Klaus Mikaelson, let out a low growl as he walked away from his place at his lecture. "You will stay away from her. She left one manipulative bastard and his family, and it'd be a poor job done for me if I'd allow her to go and join another."

"Oh, the pup's got bite," Klaus said amused as he looked at Myriam, who had a big goofy grin on her face as she looked back at him. "Maybe he should join us instead."

It was now Bella's turn to scowl at the two. "How about you go find Peter? I think he'd be more interested in your games than Isaac and me. I'm fine right here," she replied, a slight snarl curling on her words as she took a step closer to Isaac.

"And yet, you bite so wonderfully," Klaus smirked, and he once again looked at Myriam. "What do you think, love? Are we going to take them up on their offer to take a room at the famous Mystic Night Owl?"

"I think you can find yourself some accommodations out in the woods on your own and stay away from Bella and me," Isaac grumbled, much to Myriam's delight.

"Yes, darling," Myriam purred. "I think they'll want the place to themselves tonight."

"No, we just don't want you anywhere near our guests or us, you freaks," Bella answered.

"Alright, that's enough," Caroline said as Jeremy snickered. She approached Klaus and Myriam and turned them around towards the exit. "Go. Go and do your… business and come back normal, no more playing with the puppies. Don't make me kick you out."

As soon as the two were gone, Bella angrily turned on their new friends. "What the hell was that about? Neither of you seemed surprised by any of that? Myriam looked like she was taken over by a purple people eater or something!"

"Yeah, well, this is normal for them, gets quite boring after you've seen it a few times," Caroline shrugged as she put her arms around both Isaac and Bella. "Have you guys ever been on a proper date?"

The wolves eyes grew wide and bewildered as they took in the information. "This is normal?" Bella blinked. "No way! Myriam's like the most down to earth person and… no, this isn't normal."

"Oh, yes it is," Caroline smiled. "Now, go home, decompress and get yourselves cleaned up. Meet me in the town center at 7 tonight."

"Why?"

"Because I say so," she smiled at them as she walked them out the door. "Thank you so much for your class today, Isaac. You should do that more often." Caroline let go of them and slapped her friends' asses. "Go."

Bella grabbed Isaac and started walking back, in a hurry to get away from the school. It wasn't that she was afraid of them or their new friends. She just wanted some time away from the sudden weird quickly. "What the fuck."

"Our friends are so weird," he agreed with a nod. "Well, except for Jeremy," he added before carefully looking over to her. "You… You wouldn't consider to actually… you know… to go with them?"

She shot him a 'go to hell' glare. "No. Are you nuts? Yes, I'll admit that I can see the appeal Myriam had been talking about with Klaus, but he's got a lot of that clout and arrogance that I ran from with Edward and his family. While I do think he can be a very valuable ally, just no to whatever the hell was just going through your head. Not interested in anything more than what we can get in a business transaction. And that's what we have Myriam now to liaise with his family's power and contacts."

He let out a breath of relief and nodded. Glad that she was immune to Klaus' … charisma. "I'm not going to deal with him. He's … he may be a different type of wolf, he's really powerful, and it was hard not to give in to that."

"We keep Myriam around for that, but if he's sticking around, then he can stay at the school, and she can go visit him there," she shrugged. "He comes to us only as an absolute necessity."

"Yeah… good. Because… you know… I have been meaning to ask you something," he hesitated as he ran a hand through his hair. "And that something has only gotten a bit of a push with the encounter with Klaus."

Bella glanced at him, arching a brow. "Is it really that bad that he got under your skin? Because yeah, the guy can be slimy. In fact, I really do want to take a damn shower for the innuendos and hints he was throwing around. I feel like I really need to scrub myself raw with bleach."

"Yeah, that too," Isaac sighed, shaking his head. "Ah, forget it."

"No, we'll talk about it after I shower. It seems important to you, but I still feel too creeped out to deal with much at the moment."

~o.O.o~

Isaac had taken a shower himself, and mentally hitting himself for even thinking about this aloud. To her. This was something important, something he had rejected time and time again, but it was necessary. And he wanted to. He was ready, and he fully believed that she wouldn't hurt him. She wouldn't push him away or hurt him. She'd let him be himself.

However, after Bella's shower, she still wasn't feeling it. They both decided to have something to eat after meeting with Caroline in the town center, only a few steps away from their B&B. They watched some FRIENDS on Netflix instead, to kill time. "You know, we don't have to go and meet Caroline."

"I know," Bella replied as she leaned against him as they usually did when watching Netflix. "I honestly don't feel like it, either, but maybe she has something to show us or something. I don't know."

"She wants us to leave the building more often, that's what she wants," Isaac pointed out. "You still haven't gone on that girl trip with her and Myriam."

"Because I don't like girl trips! Don't get me wrong, I like the occasional spa treatment, but by myself, so I don't have to participate in girl talk. That's so freaking annoying!" Bella exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "Shopping for clothes, spending hours in shops!"

"Spending some girl time with girls," Isaac laughed. "You can negotiate how these trips go, you know."

"You want me gone, don't you?"

"No," he smiled at her. "I want you to have fun, socialize more. They're your friends. You can spend a girl's day out however you want to. I mean, I doubt they say 'no' when you suggest going to Disney or something."

"No, I want to do Disney with you, and we can't do that until you hire some capable chefs to take over when you're not here, or incapacitated or you know, take a few days off because you're working yourself too hard," she let out a whine. "You had some great guys come in."

"Yeah, but not what I wanted."

"Well, ask Peter for friends of his. Or maybe Myriam for some of her friends. Surely they know vampires who've been cooking for a very long time, and you won't be able to say 'no' to them," she said smugly. "Stop trying to control everything."

"I have!" he laughed.

"More. Those vampy chefs are coming. Or, perhaps they know great human chefs. We can pay them more than they'll ever earn working normally."

"And what will I do in my spare time?"

Bella was quiet for a moment before shrugging. "Sit still and be pretty?"

"Yeah, as if," he rolled his eyes at her. "You know I'll just find something to do."

~o.O.o~

"What is this?" Bella demanded as they approached Caroline and the little area that she had decorated with… stuff. A picnic blanket with a picnic basket, some fairy lights in trees, candles and was that a portable DVD player?

"Date night. For you and Isaac," Caroline beamed as she made them sit down on the blanket. She then retrieved a jar out of the basket and set it down in front of them. "With little notes to help you talk about your feelings and all."

Bella blinked, with little else for a reaction on her face. "Isaac and I aren't dating. Has Klaus' mental illness suddenly spread? I had high hopes for you and Alaric."

"Oh please," Caroline huffed as she crossed her arms over each other. "Alaric and I co-parent, we're not compatible. He hates vampires," she retorted. "And no, I didn't drink from Klaus' Kool-Aid, this is a long time coming," she said all motherly. "We've been watching you two walk around each other for a very long time, and you're both not talking about the thing you two have. You're both ready for this. Date night. Your first date."

"Yeah, so not doing this," Bella shook her head as she got to her feet again. "Come on, Isaac, let's go home and continue our FRIENDS marathon."

Isaac looked at Caroline for a moment before pulling Bella back down. "Our friend went through a lot of trouble to do this for us, we might as well go ahead with it," he told her, before looking back at Caroline. "Thank you, Caroline, for doing this."

Caroline beamed with pride. "You're welcome! Now, enjoy, and don't worry about the cleanup, I'll do that after you're done," she then made herself scarce with help from her vampire speed.

"Who are you and what did you do to my Isaac?" Bella looked at him, head half cocked, a curious look on her face. "Seriously."

"Didn't want to upset the preppy vampire," he shrugged as an excuse and opened the basket to peek inside of it. "She's got us Alfredo's."

"Seriously? She went all the way to Richmond to get us food?" Bella blinked as she peeked into the basket. "Oh man, that food…" She got the food out of the basket and sighed. "Okay, fine, we need to thank her for this."

Isaac grinned as he tucked into his food. "This isn't date night. This is good food in the park."

Bella hummed for an answer as she took a bite of her spaghetti. "This is so delicious… look, I love your cooking, but-"

"Alfredo's is run by real Italians, Bella, of course, their food is better than mine," he let out a snort. "I know my limits. Doesn't take away that I really love to cook," he smiled at her as he kept eating. "And are decent at it."

"No, you're great, I just- sorry, I didn't mean to insult you or anything."

"You didn't."

Bella opened the jar with the little notes in them before taking another bite of food. Since they were going with whatever this was, why not humor Caroline by playing around with this? "Okay, what's your favorite food?"

Isaac raised a brow. "Seriously?"

She shrugged. "I don't know what to choose, either. All food is good. Right now I'm particularly fond of this stuff," she said as she motioned to their food.

He thought for a moment and sighed as he put his food down and looked down at his hands. "Remember I wanted to talk to you about something, earlier?"

"It was food related?"

"No. It has nothing to do with that food question. It's more of a personal matter, but it's important. I think. At least I feel like it's an important matter we need to discuss. Been wanting to talk to you about this for a while now."

She lifted his chin, so he looked at her. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right? You've done so well with opening up to me, why didn't you come to me before?"

"Because it's different than all of those other things? It's nothing permanent or anything, I mean… you're in control over that."

"You're freaking me out, Lahey," she narrowed her eyes at him. "Stop being so cryptic and just say it. What's been on your mind for all this time?"

"I want to be your beta if you'd accept me as yours."

She was taken aback by that. She hadn't anticipated that. She had been fine with the way they had been for over the last few months since she learned that she was a werewolf, and Isaac had told her then that just because she was an Alpha, he wasn't just going to roll over for her. He was fine on his own. He'd been hurt and rejected by his previous Alphas, and she understood the reasoning of him rejecting her. She wasn't particularly waiting on becoming an Alpha with a beta, either. The responsibility alone would make her fuck up, fuck her Isaac up, and she didn't want to hurt him. She didn't know how to be a proper Alpha, and she didn't want to try it on him, either! "Isaac… I-"

"Nothing changes, Bella," he said as he took her hands. "I am trusting you with my life. I have been for a while. I look at you to be my compass. And spending time with you has made me realize that maybe having someone else around isn't so bad. That being the lone wolf that I tried to be, wasn't exactly working out in my favor."

She stared back at him, entirely unamused considering that the entire day had gone already for them. "You do know what this sounds like right? A really sad proposal…"

"I'm not proposing," Isaac huffed. "If I were, I'd do it more spectacularly."

"I know, I get that, but consider the day we just went through- Say what…?"

"It's actually the main reason I wanted to get this out of the way now, you know. If you're my Alpha, I'll be less inclined to feel intimidated by other Alphas. Sure, they'll still be able to influence me, but less powerful, because I'll be tethered to you. You'll be stronger, and I'll be stronger too. I trust you, Bella, and I think you'll make a wonderful Alpha."

"Can I think about it?"

"Do you have to?"

"No, but Isaac, I don't know what this is going to do for us. With us. I'm not experienced, at all. What if something goes wrong?"

"I'm willing to give you the power to overrule and empower me, Bella, not to take my mind and turn me into a brainless minion," he let out a snort. "But sure, you can think about it, it'll be okay if you decide that it's not a good idea."

Bella squeezed his hands to make him look at her again. "I am not rejecting you, Isaac," she said kindly. "I think it's a matter of confidence that's getting in the way," she let out a deep breath then. "For a while now I've been feeling like you're mine to protect, to look out for. Are you sure nothing will change between us?"

"Nothing will change, I promise. If anything, it'll make us stronger in every sense of the way."

"Elaborate," Bella sighed, still uncertain about his sudden change of heart.

"Well, a beta draws his or her power from their Alpha, and in turn, the Alpha does the same. Even when we're far apart, you'll be stronger. You'll gain limited telepathy and mental control to stay in control over me. Like, it'd be easier for you to snap me out of a rage or your roar can help me out. You might have a slight readjustment phase as you've been ignoring some of your abilities like sniffing someone's scent and make sense of it."

"What?"

"Like dogs? You know, when you see a bunch of dogs in the dog park, they sniff each other and say 'hey you're my friend!' or 'I hate you!'."

"You have this?"

"And you too, but yeah, you've been either ignoring it or pushing it down," he shrugged. "Look, if you're not sure, call your brother or uncle, I'm sure they have a better way of explaining it to you. And they'll likely want you to reject me or something."

"You said nothing would change, Isaac, but you've just given me a list of what will," she should feel angry about this, but she wasn't. In fact, she was scared. She'd been ignoring her own feelings for Isaac, not to have him as a beta but as a boyfriend and she didn't want to risk it getting out before either of them were ready.

"Isn't life all about taking risks?" He smirked, still holding onto her hands. "Weren't you the one who told me to live a little? Live a little, Bella. Trust me that it'll be alright. And things will change for the better."

He had so much faith in her, so much trust. And she had the same. She only hoped that she would remain in control over her own emotions and feelings. And he was right. Likely. Probably. Yes. Okay. Better her than someone else, right? "You're not going to get mad or angry when I get things wrong?""

"You won't do anything wrong, trust me."

"Okay."

"Really?" His face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Yep," she replied with a nod. "Now what?"

"I don't know to be honest," he said as he felt his cheeks turn red. "It was natural with Derek because he bit me… with Scott… it was easy but… I don't know."

Bella shrugged and finished her food. "We'll see then. Wanna head home and watch FRIENDS?"


	17. Chapter 17

Isaac was always awake and up first, and today was no exception. He made them coffee and some sandwiches before going back into his room to take a shower and get dressed in his work outfit. Bella was usually up by then, but when he returned to the kitchen, she still wasn't there. Concerned, he walked over to her room and knocked on the door. "Bella?"

"I'm calling in sick!" Bella whined as she nestled herself deep underneath the covers. She was feeling like she had the worst hangover she'd ever had, despite them not having drunk the previous night _and_ werewolves couldn't get drunk due to their metabolism.

"Okay," Isaac let out a slight chuckle. "Want me to put your breakfast on your nightstand?" He wasn't sure why it took her so long to reply, maybe she was sick, but they never got sick. Did something go wrong with her acceptance of him? Had he been wrong for pushing this? To have reasoned her into this? Something she initially didn't want, at all?

"No," her voice came back muffled. "I'll get something later."

"Okay," he said quietly as he walked back to the kitchen, grabbed a couple of sandwiches and his coffee before going downstairs. For a good ten minutes, he anxiously tried to analyze the situation, resulting in him getting anxious and destroying the empty mug he was holding for holding it too tightly.

What if he had broken her? What if, instead of having saved her, he had now broken her? It didn't make him any better than her ex-boyfriend. He was pacing in his kitchen, tugging on his hair with one hand while fumbling his phone with the other. It had been a while since he had been this anxious. This afraid. He couldn't call Peter, because Peter would kill him for ruining her. He couldn't call Argent, because Isaac was supposed to be doing good things, and this wasn't a good thing. But he had to call _someone_. Without even thinking about it, he found himself dialing Derek's number from memory.

" _Who's this?"_

Isaac blinked for a moment and then realized that he had never given his phone number to any of the Beacon Hills people after having changed it numerous times. Because he wanted to avoid Beacon Hills so badly. When Isaac wanted to speak, he could only squeak before composing himself enough. "It's Isaac," he said, letting out a deep breath. And another breath.

" _Something wrong with Bella?"_

Yes, of course, he'd think that. Because Isaac wasn't capable of _saving_ or making sure someone was _safe_. Oh, why did he call Derek? "Forget it."

" _No, I'm not going to forget it, you're calling me for a reason. Calm down."_ Derek spoke calmly and Isaac could hear him shuffle a little, no doubt he had woken him up. It was freaking early.

"Sorry to have woken you."

" _Isaac. Don't worry about waking me up if something is wrong with my sister."_

"I think… I think I may have broken her. I didn't mean to! I mean… all I asked was for her to be my Alpha and… now she's not coming out of her bed, she's sick, she says and I broke her! What if I pushed her too much? What if she really wasn't ready for this? What can I do to fix this? I'm supposed to keep her safe, not break her!" Isaac rambled as he still paced through his kitchen. "You can come and kick my ass. I ruined your sister."

" _Relax, calm down,"_ there was a hint of humor in Derek's voice. " _You didn't break her or ruin her. Are you listening?"_

"Yes…"

" _Okay, first of all, this conversation will stay between us. You and me. No one else will ever learn from this conversation, not even Argent."_

"Okay. Good. Yeah… that's good," Isaac let out a sigh of relief as he finally stopped pacing and leaned against a countertop instead. "You're not mad at me then?"

" _I told you, you didn't break her. How can I be mad at you for not breaking her? No, things have worked a little bit differently, but that doesn't mean that it's a bad thing. I bit you, I turned you and I trained you. I was your Alpha from the get-go until I let you go and pushed you towards Scott, and he accepted you easily, without you asking or him asking, didn't he? Because he was grateful for you joining his pack, to make him stronger and fight grandpa Argent, the Kanima, and Void-Stiles."_

"Okay?"

" _Now you're in a state of peace. You and your new Alpha. Forget that she's my sister for a moment, she's the person you've decided to fully trust and that likely hasn't been easy for you. There's no doubt in my mind that Scott and I ruined your ability to trust so easily, and I am sorry for having played a part in that. But for you to trust her with your whole being, that is something major. For both of you. You don't have any pressing matters and she hasn't been looking for a pack, because you're both safe. Despite you going about and end up in traps meant for Scott."_

"I don't get it."

" _She has some adjusting issues, that's all. She'll be fine. I promise you that. Right now she's likely overwhelmed by your new bond. You're used to having a bond with an Alpha, but she's never had that experience, remember? She found out she was a werewolf and an Alpha literally on the same day. She's never been in a pack before."_

Isaac was quiet as he tried to process everything that Derek had said. "I don't think she wants you and Peter to join her pack, Derek."

" _And we don't want to, our life is here. It's also safer for Bella not to have us in her pack. Not only because of the hunters, but you know how Peter is. He claims to be reformed and not after power anymore, but I don't trust him around Bella. We're fine being omega's."_

Isaac blinked, knowing it made a lot of sense what Derek had just said. A big brother looking out for his baby sister. Isaac never knew that Derek could have so much… heart. Maybe it was true what Argent had said about him, that he had changed.

" _But right now, Bella's suffering from information overload, Isaac. Likely just like you at the moment, because of what I'm telling you, but she's adjusting. Had the situation been different, like the both of you being in danger or continuous danger, it would have likely been easier on her, as it would have been for survival."_

"It still is."

" _I suspect you've found a bunch of people who make things easier on the both of you,"_ Derek was smiling again, Isaac could tell. " _And I also suspect it wasn't easy for the both of you to let new people in. But you two don't feel threatened, so that's why this situation is unique to the both of you. You're happy in life. So don't worry, alright? She'll be alright. As will you. But you getting anxious doesn't help her right now."_

"I haven't been this anxious for a very long time."

" _The other reason why it may be difficult for her right now is because one or both of you have feelings for each other. Unresolved feelings, deep feelings. You know, the relationship kind of feelings."_

Isaac started to laugh, shaking his head as he tried to dismiss the notion. "One of the friends we made here actually tried setting us up on a blind date of sorts with one another and she freaked out. I doubt she would have any feelings for me and I never thought of her like that…" he said, even though he knew as he said it, the words felt empty.

" _Liar," Derek laughed. "I saw you here, you had fallen for her on your trip from Forks to Beacon Hills. Admit it. You were just too scared and untrusting to act upon it."_

"Yeah, whatever," he replied. "Thanks, Derek."

" _No problem. You can always call me, you know that, right? I'll never tell a soul, I promise."_

"Yeah, okay. Sure. See ya," he said as he disconnected the call. He didn't even have time to process the phone call he had just had as his phone started ringing again. "Peter, good morning."

" _Ah, I timed it right then. I need you to grab Jeremy, and maybe Alaric, and take your van to South Carolina. Bring supplies. Food, clothes, shit like that. One of our safehouses got burned to the ground and they moved to a new house, but they need supplies. You'll be going in a heavily hunter infested area, it's worse than that trip you did with Bella. You need to help this family of wolves because they're protecting something very rare, an_ _Ikiryō."_

"What the fuck is an Iky-whatsy?"

" _An Ikiryō is a creature from Japanese folklore; it's a spirit that can leave a living human's body to go and haunt their enemies or people or even places. Very powerful. This one isn't quite potent, but important nonetheless. Imagine the hunters getting their hands on her."_

"That's really gotta mess with Lydia if it ever got around her," he snorted. "Can we send it to Scott?"

" _No, they're staying in South Carolina, Isaac. You're going over to help and get rid of some of those hunters. No more no killing. That's what Scott does. No killing, but this has to end. They're getting out of control. This time, you can fight back. So take Jeremy and Alaric with you. Be a good soldier."_

"Yes sir," Isaac nodded. "Send me the address, and I'll have us going in an hour or so after stocking up." He disconnected the phone, cleaned up the mess of the mug and went upstairs to get some clothes while he shot off a few messages to Jeremy and Alaric. Seeing that breakfast was still untouched, he knocked on Bella's door again. "Bella?"

"No."

"I'm heading out with Jeremy and Ric for a couple of days. Want me to call Myriam back or will you be fine on your own?"

"Caroline," she muttered, not in the mood for Myriam. It was likely that she was still licking or sucking Klaus' lollipop. "Be safe."

"Always! I'll text you tonight, okay? I'll leave the doors locked so don't worry about the B&B."

"Fun."

Isaac scribbled down Derek's number on a piece of paper and placed it near the sandwiches with a note saying 'if you need help, call him' before he left the apartment and headed to his van to go and pick up Jeremy and Alaric.

"Hey, loverboy!" Jeremy greeted him as he climbed into the van. "Caroline couldn't stop talking about your date! She said you two looked content after you talked things through!"

"What?" Isaac blinked at him. "What are you talking about?"

Jeremy began to look uncomfortable for his eager happiness for his friend. "Uh, so, the date night she and Myriam set up for you two didn't go so well? I'll tell you this, those two were working hard the past week to put something together they both agreed on."

"Date, as in relationship?" Isaac shook his head laughing. "Cute!" Jesus fuck, did the whole world wanted them to be together?

"Yeah, dude. Um…" Jeremy suddenly felt like he wanted to be anywhere else but there after what he'd overheard Caroline and Myriam discussing that Bella admitted her feelings for Isaac. "You know what, just forget it."

"We did discuss something else, though, something important, so I guess it wasn't all a failure," he shrugged as he looked at Alaric who was bringing his own arsenal of guns. "You know, I have plenty in this van."

Ric sighed, glancing over his supply. "Yeah, but in my experience, you can't trust your own or other's stuff. And you never know what the other side may be using to push their agenda. I've seen some utilize allies that you wouldn't think they'd get along with until they had no more use for them so I'm going in expecting some supernatural in their ranks."

"Great! Let's go to Richmond to get supplies and then make our way down to South Carolina," Isaac suggested before starting the car and putting his phone on the carkit to call Caroline.

" _Yay! You're officially off the market now!"_

"I wasn't aware I was on any market," Isaac replied. "In any case, we're still happily single and I would appreciate it if everyone would stop with pushing us into things we're not ready for."

" _Wait, I'm confused because obviously there must be a miscommunication somewhere because I know that -"_

"Caroline. Enough," Jeremy interrupted. "Let it go and talk to Bella about it later."

"Yeah, uh, could you go to Bella later to make sure she's alright? She wasn't feeling too well this morning," Isaac asked Caroline.

Now the vampire was certainly thoroughly confused. " _What? I thought your kind doesn't get sick. Hell, the wolves like Klaus kind that I knew rarely did, but did."_

"She's not sick, she's not feeling well."

"What did you do?" Alaric asked curiously.

"That's between me and Bella, I just need Caroline to go over and make sure she's alright later on," Isaac replied as he tightly gripped the wheel. Fucking Peter sending him off like that. Now. Creating a distance between him and Bella. Whereas he believed he should be home to take care of her.

" _Yeah, alright, but I swear, if you've broken my friend, I will kill you, Isaac."_

"I was assured that I didn't," he muttered. "Thanks," he said as he disconnected the call and continued to drive towards Richmond.

~o.O.o~

By the time Bella finally managed to drag herself out of bed it was well past noon, and the coffee on the table cold, the sandwiches stale. Grumpily she slammed the coffee machine into making another cup for her and sat down on one of the chairs to drink it once it was done. Her head still felt so heavy, but the feeling had lessened somewhat after Isaac had left.

It still felt like the hangover from hell. She had seen Isaac's note with a phone number scribbled on it, and she just knew it was Derek. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to call her brother. Maybe he knew what was going on. Did Isaac even know?

" _Who's this?"_

"Me," Bella grunted as she took another sip of her coffee. "Your stupid sister."

" _I don't think you're stupid,"_ Derek laughed. " _But please enlighten me, why are you stupid?"_

"Cut the crap, Derek, there's no doubt Isaac called you."

" _Sorry, but you know as well as I do that Isaac still doesn't like me. Is something wrong?"_

"I don't know," she sighed. "Sure feels like it. It's like I have the hangover of the century and it's not going away. Or slowly. I mean, I can form somewhat coherent words now?"

" _What happened?"_

Bella smiled then as she recalled Isaac's bravery. "Oh, he was so adorable when we were talking about this, so brave, so… trusting. So… different. I mean, I've been trying to get him to open up more, coax him out a little, but this? This is a whole new level."

" _You had sex? Bella, that's no reason to call me! That's gross!"_

"Fuck you," she countered. "No, he asked if he could be my beta."

" _Wow."_ Derek sounded impressed. " _That's… huge. For him, and you! I take it that you accepted him?"_

"Yeah… but I think something went wrong. I feel like shit. Isaac made it sound it was easy."

" _It's never easy, no matter what situation you gain a beta for your pack. It might have a bigger impact on you because you've never lived in a pack before. You don't know what it's like and yeah, that's not your fault."_

"Maybe I shouldn't have done it," she muttered. "What if I fuck him up? What if I turn out to be like you or Scott? I can't see him get hurt, but he assured me that I wouldn't, but how could he know?"

Derek sighed over the line. " _I doubt you could ever make the same mistakes that I did, or come close to Scott's idiocy. That's because you're asking these questions now, to me, prove you don't have it you to hurt him the way we did."_

"He was so anxious this morning, it hurt. Like… physically."

" _Yeah, that will take time to get used to and learn to tune emotions out. It was probably a lot of him sensing you being off as well so it had it going around in circles. Either way, I'd say if there is anything you two need to get off your chest, do it soon or you will likely go crazy before you can get a handle on your new abilities."_

Bella opened her mouth to say something but instead took another sip of her coffee to swallow her words. Eventually, she found a more diplomatic way of saying it. "I doubt he's ready for that. It took him so long to open up and let me in. And now this, I mean, that was like… so special for him to-"

" _Bella, I may not know you as well as I'd like to get to, but I do think I know Isaac pretty well. He does hide his emotions very well and he had to learn that early on from his own father, but he's head over heels for you. But you can find that out for yourself without saying a word when you get close to him."_

"Hypothetically speaking, does it really make it such a difference if we sort this out?"

" _You're an Alpha. You're not supposed to feel those kinds of emotions for your beta unless you're together. It'll mess you up if you don't act on them, and this is not to push you right into his arms, especially if you don't feel the same way, but it sounds to me that you are pretty crazy for him, too."_

"You reckon he's ready for that talk?"

" _Ready or not, this is something you need to discuss. Like now."_

Bella bit her lips as she toyed with her coffee mug. "I kinda can't. He's out on a job that he said will probably take a couple days."

" _Of course he is,"_ Derek sighed. " _As soon as he gets home, you sit him down, you hear me? I don't want you to go insane. Until then, you can enjoy your extra strength and stamina and get used to your intensified emotions, get a grip on them."_

" _You're_ giving _me_ advice on being an Alpha? Really? I'm still working on wrapping my head around this whole phone call actually happening."

Derek laughed then. " _I know that I haven't been a good Alpha, but I have been one. I can tell you what's best to do and what you totally shouldn't. But you and I both know that you won't ever make the same mistakes with Isaac like I have. He was just a tool for me, a kid who was in a crappy situation and who I could make my beta to do my doings. He's not that to you."_

"No, he's not a chew toy," she said angrily.

" _You're going to be alright, Bella, just believe in yourself, your capabilities and your feelings. But do sit him down to have 'the talk' when he gets home."_

"Yeah, thanks," she said as she disconnected the call and poured herself another coffee. This were going to be a long few days with Isaac gone.


	18. Chapter 18

The entire trip to South Carolina had been spent in uncomfortable silence, apart from the occasional conversation between Alaric and Jeremy and the stops along the road to take a piss or fill up on gas. Isaac just wanted to get the job done and head back home. For some reason, this felt like a trip anyone else could have made and Peter was simply trolling him or something.

They had supplied the safe house and made sure they were secure and armed before they started to clean up the town. Isaac wanted to kill at least five of those hunters. Alaric was still a bit on the fence about really killing another human being, but what if they'd come for his girls? He'd likely kill them anyway then. But still, it wasn't right.

Isaac tore right into the first hunter they encountered by accident, clawing the guy's neck and slicing the carotid artery in one easy swipe before he unhooked his gun and headed straight into the group of hunters. They were all decked out in Kevlar vests, army boots, guns, the works, and this had all the signs for this to get out of hand, fast. "Isaac, fall back!" Alaric commanded in a soft voice, but loud enough for Isaac to hear it, but the werewolf ignored him and kept walking in, seemingly undetected.

"Jacques, long time no see," Isaac said to a younger hunter. "Why are you always making the wrong decisions, huh?" He slapped him on the back, laughing, before pulling him out of the group of hunters, more to the side. Friendly. But he wasn't. He slammed him against a wall, causing Jacques to cry out in pain and alerting the rest of the group that something was going on. Grinning, Isaac started to punch his former friend to a pulp before releasing him once he was unconscious.

When he turned around, he saw red dots all over his torso and shrugged before pulling a grenade out of his pocket, pulled out the pin and threw it into the group before running off, laughing. Alaric and Jeremy quickly hid behind a dumpster while Alaric shot Jeremy a look. "Don't look at me, man, sometimes he's enjoying himself a little bit too much!"

The explosion of the grenade sent various hunters flying, body parts flying through the air and landing on top of roofs, even biological matter was flung against the walls. The remaining hunters who weren't injured or dead then ran after Isaac. Jeremy got to his feet and disturbed the dumpster they were hiding behind, which collided with the emergency stairs above them and a head fell right on top of Jeremy's head.

"Classy," Ric commented as he kicked the head away from Jeremy. "You okay there?"

"Oh yeah!" Jeremy grinned as he ran after the group of hunters that were now chasing Isaac. "Keep up, old man!" They often used this tactic with less harmful weapons, such as a flashbang grenade and then cornering everyone and tying them up, but this was fun. _Fun_ , and Isaac was mental. Bella was going to kill the both of them for getting into trouble.

He wasn't as fast as Isaac, and he found him being pounded on with fists and bats, but Isaac fought back and he was fighting dirty. "Hey man, leave some for me!" Jeremy called out as he ducked when someone took a swing at him.

By the time they had knocked everyone unconscious with several broken limbs, both Jeremy and Isaac were black and blue from their work out. Sore, too, but also ecstatic. During the drive out of town, the adrenaline started to wear off and Isaac lost control over the truck when he felt a sharp pain from multiple places over his body. Because of the reaction, he jerked on the wheel and steered the truck right off one of the mountain sides and the world fizzled out.

~o.O.o~

"No, Jeremy, there must be another incision somewhere," Alaric said as he held the feverish werewolf down. It had been an easier job with him knocked unconscious, but now that they were burning off the wolfsbane and mistletoe, he started to come back to his senses, but still yelling in pain.

The truck was a total loss, everything was spread everywhere, including the weapons and some of the food they had brought with them. It was a miracle that all three of them survived. If it hadn't been for Jeremy wearing the Gilbert Ring, he would have died the moment he had been impaled by a pane of glass. Thankfully, Jeremy had found his way back quite quickly while Alaric dealt with the unconscious werewolf after removing the glass out of Jeremy's body. Alaric shouldn't have survived the crash either, but he believed that his girls snuck a sneaky protection spell on him on his way out.

Isaac was nearly undressed now as they were looking for more cuts that were purple and black. The wolf was sweating and incoherent. He screamed and then whimpered before screaming again. Once they were both satisfied they had found every incision, the wolf passed out again and Jeremy and Alaric could take a breather.

"Yeah, so there's no way we can get out of here," Jeremy said as he looked around. "We kinda need Isaac to take us up, and he's not doing well. He'll take at least two days to fully heal with those broken bones of his.

Alaric sighed and shook his head. "I don't think that's gonna be happening. See if you can find one of our phones around. Call the school. If you find his first, call Bella."

"Oh, she's going to kill us," Jeremy said as he moved and went to look for their phones.

"At least we're still alive for her to get her hands on us. But I think she'll be more interested in Isaac and I know crap about their type of wolf. She's gotta know something or someone we can call to find out how to help."

He nodded before finding Isaac's phone. "Well, here goes nothing…" he said with a wince as he sat back down again and unlocked the phone before finding Bella's number. He put it on speaker phone so he wouldn't be the only one to suffer her wrath.

" _Hey, when are you coming back?"_

"Uh, Bella, it's Jeremy."

It was quiet for a moment and Jeremy could hear a breath getting sucked in. " _What happened?"_

"Well, first off, everyone's alive and mostly in one piece…" He tried to ignore the snarling on the other end of the phone. "Look, it was a routine job. We just didn't figure they'd lace their weapons with mistletoe and wolfsbane. Isaac was driving and ah… sent us off the road. There is no way that we can get back up there without Isaac's help and he's gonna need a few days to recover… he's pretty banged up."

" _I don't know a damned thing about mistletoe and only the basics about wolfsbane!"_

"No, that's okay, we burned it out of his system, but the crash broke a bone… or twenty… or something…"

Bella groaned before speaking. " _There's no way any of us here will get to you in time. Let me try calling someone who should be at a base we have set up. I'll have to call my brother to see if he will tell me anything that might help him because I'm in over my head here. I just took him on as a beta two nights ago so I have no clue what to do."_

"Oh, that explains your relationship status," Jeremy muttered as he scratched his head. "And what you talked about on date night."

" _Yeah, whatever Jeremy. Let me make some calls and go collect the guns and shit, don't want those things laying around for when the cops show up eventually!"_ Bella then disconnected the call.

~o.O.o~

"Motherfucker!" Bella exclaimed as she was sitting opposite of Myriam and Caroline. Both girls were keeping her company today and they were just drinking coffee before they'd go to the movies, but that had to be put on hold now.

Both Myriam and Caroline had heard the conversation, of course, with their vampire hearing. "I think the burning of the wolfsbane and mistletoe out of Isaac's system would suffice, so don't worry about that," Myriam assured her. "Want me to get Klaus and find us a car to start making our way down there?"

Bella blinked when her phone beeped with a message from Peter. _We're on our way, arranging a car from the safe house. I'll have them back to you by tomorrow._ "Well, apparently that's not needed," she said as she threw her phone on the table, before grabbing the phone again and dialing Peter's number.

" _Bella, I'm running to get your people out of a nasty situation, Jasper is with me, what's up?"_

"You fucker! This was supposed to be a _routine_ mission!"

" _I didn't know this would happen. I don't always get all the information like that. Shit gets fucked up sometimes and if I had known, I would have planned for contingencies. Believe me, I'm no more happy than you are because I might actually care for the dog. Just don't tell him I said that. I'll take it to my grave."_

"How badly is he hurt?"

" _Don't know until I get there, but I'd recommend calling your brother, asking him about broken bones and confirm the burning of mistletoe and wolfsbane with him. Now, can I continue running towards your beau?"_

"Thank you," she said softly as she disconnected the call and dialed Derek's number instead, she felt a panic rise in her chest as the phone rang.

" _Hey, Bella! What's up?"_

"What do you do when you get stabbed by mistletoe and wolfsbane?"

Derek was quiet on the other end for a moment as he could hear the panic in her voice. " _You take a lighter and burn it out of every entry point in the body, why?"_

"How does a wolf heal from broken bones? Like - a lot of them. The kind when you drive a truck off a cliff kind of broken bones?"

" _He did what!"_ Derek exclaimed loudly, shocked.

"Shhh! You're not around those morons and the other blood relative, are you? They all don't need to know! And yes… I need help…I have someone going to get him but I don't know what to do and the others aren't that familiar with us."

" _No, I'm home alone,"_ he replied quickly. " _We usually heal on our own, depending on the severity, it could take a couple of days and it'll be quite painful. Maybe his bones need to be set, that will require some strength and some guts. I don't think you should do that, so I hope you have strong people around you. He will need his rest, though. Want me to come over?"_

Bella glanced over at her friends and hesitated. "No. While we are getting along okay and I'm okay with these calls right now, I can't risk this base and Peter to find me. Maybe we can do something somewhere in the future, I don't know."

Myriam smirked. "You could always come visit New Orleans. Nik would love to see you! It'd be a real blast!" she giggled.

"Are you kidding me? Klaus will eat him alive!" Bella shot at her friend. "No!"

"Is your brother hot?" Myriam asked in turn. "Then we can set him up with this wolf bitch that keeps trying to move in on Klaus."

"Myriam, stop it," Bella glared at her. "Yeah, uh, let's hope that Isaac will heal fine… he should be healing faster now that he's a beta, right?"

" _It all depends on his injuries and if his wolfsbane poisoning has been accurately treated."_

Caroline nodded. "I have every confidence that Alaric did what was supposed to after learning about that. It wasn't that far of a stretch from the wolves we typically work with."

" _But Bella? I'm glad you've surrounded yourself with people who know their things. Let me know how he gets on, okay? I can't do much from here other than being here for you."_

She couldn't help but to smile. "Thanks, Derek. It does mean a lot. I'll get back to you when I know more about how he's doing."

~o.O.o~

Isaac let out another groan as he was propped up against the truck. "You need to move me," he said softly as he kept his eyes closed, wincing as he tried to move.

"Ah, we're not moving you anywhere, buddy. You have a lot of broken bones," Jeremy said as he took a bite off the apple he had found. They had rounded up all the guns and weapons Isaac had in his truck, which were a lot, as well as Alaric's were in another bag for easy pickup. "And we're waiting for the cavalry."

"Gotta move," he replied as another shock ran through his body. He let out a cry of pain when he decided to flop to his side and wanted to roll away but passed out again.

"Fucker," Jeremy muttered as he pulled Isaac back up. "What part of don't move is hard to understand? What if his back's broken?"

Alaric stared at him, considering how adamant Isaac was in the short time he was conscious. "Maybe he was able to sense something we can't?" he suggested, looking around for some unseen threat.

Jeremy sighed as he put his hand against the truck to push himself up and winced when a shock came from the truck. "The truck is static," he muttered as he went looking for the source, but the truck was kitted out with a lot of electric stuff. The hunter made his way over and reached out, pulling his hand back quickly. "Yeah, let's move him over by the tree. That ain't right."

"Sorry, Isaac," Alaric muttered as he, too, got to his feet and pulled on the young man's legs to make sure Jeremy could pick up the top half of his body. He heard some bones crack again. "Yeah… this is not good."

"Hi!" a strange voice sounded from next to them all of a sudden. When Alaric looked up, he looked at the sparkling form of a Cold One. "The name's Peter, I'm his boss," he said as he pointed at Isaac.

"You're a Cold One."

"Yep," he said as he hoisted Isaac over his shoulder. "And I know the sun's out, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do."

Another one appeared shortly after and went over to the truck to assess the damage. "Bells is gonna have his hide for this one. I'm glad that I don't have to see her for a while yet."

"I think Isaac will have a harder time coming to terms with the destruction of his truck than she will," Peter said as he grabbed a bag filled with weapons. "But she might not let him outside and play for a long time."

The blond Cold One smirked. "Perhaps, but she's living with the pup now and you said she's Alpha? Knowing the girl, she rides her emotions pretty hard so she's back and forth from an anxiety attack until you get him back to her. Phone call to brother or not."

"Yeah. You're gonna wait here for the car so they can get back?" Peter nodded as he put the bag down on the ground. "Torch the truck?"

"Yeah, we'll clean up," Jasper agreed and watched as his brother take the unconscious werewolf away from the place. "Right then, the name's Jasper and I'm going to bring you up that mountain one by one," he said with a nod. "And then we wait for the car. Oh, don't be so confused and worried, your boy's gonna be fine in Peter's care," he said dismissively before first bringing the bags up and returning to grab one of the men. "Who's up first for a piggyback ride?"

"Your kind is gifted?" Alaric said surprised.

"And you win the washing machine!" Jasper cheered. "Well, some of us are gifted. Peter knows things, I can sense and manipulate emotions… I know a mindreader, a seer… Not the greatest decision I ever made in my life there." He shrugged before bringing Jeremy up first and getting a grenade out of one of the bags before handing it to Jeremy. "Throw this down when I get your friend, okay?" He grabbed another grenade and headed back downstairs.

Jasper looked at the truck for a moment and moved it a little bit so that the gasoline that was leaking was more visible. "You're lucky this thing didn't explode with the short-circuiting going on."

"Yeah, Isaac wanted us to move him."

"Oh, but that's because his kind can't heal when they're being electrocuted," Jasper said simply as Alaric hopped on his back. He pulled the pin out of the grenade and threw it inside the truck before running up the hill where Jeremy threw his grenade down as well. The two grenades, with the gasoline, made a huge bang and a beautiful big bonfire. "So...anyone got any marshmallows?"


	19. Chapter 19

Isaac was shivering but somewhat aware when Peter brought him back home and put him on his bed with a worried Bella pacing beside the bed. "Derek said his bones need to be set before they can actually heal…" she said in a small voice, not liking seeing her Isaac like this. His torn, barely there, clothes, his small cuts finally healing. She wanted to yell at Isaac for getting into trouble, but she also wanted to hug him and tell him that everything was going to be alright.

"Yeah, sorry, darlin'," Peter said as he looked at her with a look of pity on his face. "And he needs to be conscious for them to heal, too, but he will be in a lot of pain."

"Can you set his bones?"

"Yes."

"Okay," she nodded as she quickly left the room and dialed Derek's number after closing the door. There wasn't much that she could do but to ask for more information. She needed more.

" _Hey."_

"He's home," she said before wincing after hearing Isaac scream from the other room. "I have someone setting his bones."

" _Good. Now, he needs to be awake or at least conscious for the bones to heal."_

"And how do I do that!" Bella blurted as another scream filled the room, soon followed by another, the pain in her heart growing. She wanted to burst into tears and cry. It felt as if she was being ripped apart from the inside.

" _Just how Isaac cleared you off the influences of your poisoning. Your touch can take some of his pain away,"_ Derek said calmly, although he was quite unnerved by Isaac's screaming. " _You can do this, Bella."_

"What can I give him against the pain? I doubt an aspirin will help!"

" _Morphine? But honestly, the best you can do is to help him deal with his pain. Don't be afraid."_

"You're no help," she said as she disconnected the phone call and started pacing in their living room while trying to tune out his screams. It took maybe fifteen minutes for Peter having set all of Isaac's bones at vampire speed, and when he had stopped screaming, she made her way back into his bedroom, his face white as a sheet as he had once again, passed out.

"He's going to be alright," Peter said gently, taking her hand and helped her sit down on the edge of Isaac's bed before placing her hand on his shoulder.

Bella blinked when her veins widened and darkened, she could feel it sting, but she could feel herself calm down now that Isaac was more comfortable. He was in so much pain and she still felt like she needed to cry, but she felt that he was feeling better now. After a couple of minutes, Peter removed her hand from Isaac, which made her look up at him with tears in her eyes. "Why did you do that?"

"You're going to wear yourself out, darlin'," he said kindly. "Five minutes, once an hour. I know that you want to help him, but not at the cost of yourself." He gently squeezed her shoulder before leaving the room.

Bella sighed as she laid down next to him, an arm around him, making sure that her hands weren't touching him. "I'm very angry with you, Lahey," she said softly. "Don't you ever scare me like this ever again, you hear me? You're grounded." Oh, she could tell it that was going to be at least a few hours until he'd be coherent enough to hear her or talk back at her, but she needed him to know that he was grounded. She wasn't going to allow him to go out anymore. Not for a very long time. And she was going to kill Jeremy, he was supposed to keep an eye out.

Exhausted herself from all the worrying, she drifted off in a light sleep herself.

~o.O.o~

She jolted awake when Isaac stirred underneath her arm. "Hey," she whispered. "Easy, you're okay," she wasn't sure for how long she'd been out, but she gently placed her hand on his arm to soothe him and take some of his pain away again. His eyes shot open and he wanted to sit up, but Bella pushed him down again. "You're home, in your bed," she told him. "Peter set your bones and you're healing."

"It hurts," he let out a whine.

"I know, I know," she soothed him while she gently pushed his hair out of his face before placing her hand on his arm again. She could feel only a fraction of his pain and she couldn't imagine what he was going through right now.

"Ric and Jer… they're okay?"

"Yes, I'm not worried about them," she replied as she kept her hand on him but laid back down again. "Jasper is bringing them and the weapons home."

"I was so stupid, I-I should have checked myself over after- It was such a rookie mistake!"

Bella shifted a little and removed her hand from his arm to make him look at her. "It could have happened to anyone, it's not your fault and everyone is okay," she smiled at him. "Just tell me what you need. I had to call Derek to know what we had to do about your injuries because you and I never covered this."

Isaac slowly nodded. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize," she said as she sat up, gently squeezing his arm. "Go rest, I'm going to get you something to drink and do something about that Cold One in our living room."

"What?"

"Relax," Bella pushed him down again. "He's friendly. It's Peter. So, you relax and heal up," she said as she handed him his remote and turned on the TV. "Go watch some TV."

He let out a small whine, sounding something like a wounded puppy that wasn't getting his way. "But I don't wanna watch television! What's Peter doing here? He never comes up here!"

"He ran all the way from the farm to get your ass out of there and brought you here," she replied, her anger slightly flaring up. "Because there's no way that the three of you would have been able to get out of there without you, and since it was so close to the town you were at? You'd be sitting ducks."

Isaac pouted and tried to roll away from her. "It wasn't so bad," he slurred as his face buried into the mattress. "I've had worse."

"I almost accepted Derek's offer to come here and help, you know!" she scolded him.

He lifted his head, confused again. "When did you talk to your brother?"

There was a knock on the door before Peter's voice sounded. "Bella, let him rest and come here, please."

"Yeah, I agree, I might punch him in the face myself," she growled as she left the bedroom and was immediately sat down at the table by Peter with a glass of whiskey in front of her. Had he forgotten that she was a werewolf now and couldn't get drunk? "You need to tell me how bad it was."

"Eh… Jeremy died, but he came back. Alaric's kids were overprotective so they had spelled him… ah… they had Isaac propped up against the truck that was short-circuiting so he couldn't heal properly, which was actually a good thing seeing as I had to set his bones and break some that did heal a bit on our way here…" Peter explained with a light tone of voice, knowing that the Alpha in front of him was experiencing all kinds of emotions right now. "Jasper's making sure everyone's getting back safe. Isaac was just very unlucky. And you know, I think that the knives that the hunters used to cut him weren't just laced with poison but also some sort of numbing agent so he didn't feel it until the adrenaline wore off."

"Are you trying to make me feel better?"

"Is it working?"

"No, I think Derek did a better job this time," Bella said as she knocked back her whiskey and blinked as she felt it go straight to her head. "Holy…that sucked!"

"Want another one?"

She handed him her glass with a nod. "The most infuriating thing is that Isaac thinks it wasn't that bad and that he's had worse. Does he have a concussion or something?"

Peter sighed as he grabbed the bottle and set it down in front of her with her glass. "You need to keep on drinking if you want to hear the true extent of his injuries."

"I'm never letting him outside again, not for any of your so-called routine missions," she scowled as she filled up her glass to the brim and drank it all. "And sure, things can go wrong on missions and Isaac is usually fine, but fuck, Peter. I could have lost him!" She filled her glass again and took a small sip of it. "What's this shit, anyway?"

"Whiskey, just one of our special brews that we make on our farm."

"What the fuck are you two doing out on that ranch?!" she questioned, staring at her glass.

"We experiment with shit after we've taken care of the animals. We have to kill time somehow with no permanent residents at the farm so far…" Peter explained, smiling widely. "I mean, I could come here and hang out, but you live near humans. Besides, this is your project, not mine."

"I'm thankful for the distance, though. I feel that for the first time in my life I'm free. That I can decide what I want, how I want it, and make my own decisions. We're building a life here, and…" Bella sighed happily as she took another swig of her whiskey. "I am so grateful for you, you know. Without you… I don't know…"

"It's what I do, kitten," he smiled at her. "And I want to let you in on a secret."

Bella nodded as she took another sip. "I won't tell anyone."

"Isaac's one of my personal projects, long-term, had to take it easy with him. It was never my intention to allow him soldier on as a soldier for this long. He deserves better."

She smiled then as she pat Peter on his knee, not wanting to get up because that whiskey sure was potent, but it made her feel so good too. "I know. You spoil him rotten. The truck? And now this?" she waved her hand around.

"And you."

"Me? Am I a project of yours as well now?" she asked, her voice even with her annoyance growing again.

"Well, you have been for quite some time, I just hadn't been able to get the right person for you to get you away from those assholes," Peter shrugged. "You were on the list for a while, and when I did find the right person, I had to make sure he was ready for it too."

"So basically this is a setup? What Isaac and I have is all a lie?"

"No, not at all. In fact, I didn't even think you'd make it this far together because the both of you were so stubborn," he let out a chuckle. "But you did. You two make you two work, naturally. Without any interference from anyone else."

"Tell that to Caroline and Myriam," Bella muttered. "They set us up for _date night_. Oh, and Derek wants me to talk to Isaac about my… _underlying_ feelings for him."

"I think those feelings are more towards to the surface than you may realize yourself," Peter winked at her. "But I won't call Isaac for a job for the next few months or so, maybe he'll start liking staying around here instead of getting cabin fever."

"He's not going out again," Bella said as she emptied her glass. "You can send people here that needs protecting and shit, as this place was set up to be that way, but there's no way in hell I'm going to let you have him go places."

"It's also harder to get him to places without a decent truck," Peter laughed. "But don't worry, I'll get you two like a pickup truck so you can still get around to your suppliers and stuff."

"How bad did it look like? The truck?"

"It rolled down the side of a mountain, maybe like… 30 feet, if not more, what do you think?"

"No more food truck."

"I promise. No more food truck. He has a beautiful kitchen now."

A loud thump could be heard coming out of Isaac's bedroom. "Motherfucker," she said as she got up and wobbled for a moment as the alcohol really started to do its thing. She then looked at Peter, who was smiling from ear to ear. "Fucking asshole! You got me drunk! I need to take care of him!"

"I'll get him back on to his bed, don't you worry, kitten. You can have some more whiskey if you want," Peter said playfully as he gently pushed her back into her chair with his finger before walking into Isaac's bedroom. "And what were you planning on doing?" He questioned as he saw Isaac on the floor. "Didn't she tell you to stay in bed?"

"I'm fine," Isaac slurred as he tried to push himself up but cried out on pain.

"Totally," Peter said as he picked up Isaac as if he weighed nothing and put him back down on the bed, tucking him in so tightly he couldn't move. "Stay. Once you're able to walk you might want to get a shower, but for now, you need to heal up. You're a fucking mess, Lahey."

"You can send Bella back in, your bedside manner needs some work," he muttered.

"Yeah well, I'm trying to get her drunk on this special kind of alcohol Jazz and I have been brewing because I need to tell her something so you stay here, heal up and we'll fill you in later," he said as he gently pat Isaac on his head as if he were a puppy. "It's very important that you heal up, rather sooner than later, okay? Take it easy."

"I heal up faster if I turn."

Peter thought for a moment. "Maybe later. Right now it's going to hurt like a bitch."

"But…"

"Isaac. No. Stay." He said before leaving the bedroom again and closing the door. "Right, so, how drunk are you?" Peter asked Bella as she was pouring herself another glass but missed most of it and it was spilling onto the table. "Okay! Great!" He smiled widely.

"I fucking hate you, you bastard. Why does something so evil taste so good?"

"Because we made it with love. Seeing as we'll be hosting a range of supernaturals who can't get drunk in the future, we decided to play with things. Really science-y stuff, but it's so good, Bella," Peter said as he sat down again and took her hand. "But I have to admit, I got you drunk for a few reasons."

"Asshole."

"One," he smiled as he held up his finger. "You being upset doesn't help your man very much at this moment due to the fact that you took him as your beta, which brings me to two; him being hurt doesn't do you much good either because you can sense he's in pain. Like, a lot. Once he's better, you two really should have a good talk about those feelings you have for him, and he for you, okay?"

"'Kay," she nodded as she laid her head on her free arm and kept looking at him. "I'm listening."

"Three. I want you to consider calling your brother and having him, and just him, over for a few weeks. Argent can make sure that Peter stays the hell away and keep the other runts in check, but I think it's a good idea for Derek to be here."

"But I was going to meet him in New Orleans?" Bella said confused. "Myriam said that Klaus would really like him."

"To tear him apart, maybe, for hurting his lover's friend in the past," Peter smirked. "I don't think that's a wise idea, kitten. You can go to New Orleans, sure, but don't bring your brother."

"Meh," she sighed. "What about Uncle Peter?"

"Well, if you don't mind him dead…"

"Noooooooooo," Bella gasped. "No death!"

"Will you invite Derek over?"

"Why?"

"Because, four; I want to invite Rosalie and Emmett over as well. They're on the run and could really use the safe haven we've created for supernaturals, they could use the protection we offer."

"I always liked Rosalie," Bella sighed happily. "And Emmett is a big tree! Yes! I want them here. Yes. Or at your farm, which is mostly a better thing because you guys sparkle and we don't want the humans of Mystic Falls to get bedazzled." She then looked up and tried to meet Peter's eyes. "Wait, we do have a house filled with witches… surely they can make you something that stops you from sparkling?"

"Or maybe we'll host a daylight disco and you'll have a few living disco balls walking around," Peter deadpanned, liking the idea though, but he wanted to make Bella laugh.

Bella let out a snort. "I'll talk to Caroline."

"That would be lovely, Bella, it's been a very long time since we were able to walk in the full sun without looking like a freak. It's easier on the farm, though, since we're secluded."

"Buuuuut… you're lonely. I understand. Don't worry, I'll have them work something out."

"Good, now… five… this concerns you. We've been tracking the remaining Cullens as well as we can, with our informants and sometimes my gift. With three of their members gone, Carlisle and Edward have redirected their focus on trying to find you. They still want you. They don't know you're a werewolf, all they know is that I took you, their human pet, away from them."

"Are they close?"

"Not yet, but this is why I want your brother here, incase things do change and you'll need all the help you can get. So reaching out to your new friends would be a good idea too, just to give them a head's up and stuff, because I know that you just left them and wanted to forget about the Cullens, but I also know that you don't want them anywhere near you and that you'll want to kill them when they do."

"Damn right," Bella muttered. "They are fucking manipulative bastards who were only able to manipulate me because of Charlie listening to my birth mother and tried to keep my werewolf side under control. It still doesn't make it right. No fucking around with humans!" She let out a growl then. "They're going to die."

"And you'll need all the help you can get, you understand?"

Bella nodded as she fumbled her phone out of her pocket and dialed her brother's number.

" _I feel special! This is the third time you've called me!"_

"Are you alone?"

" _Are you drunk? How?! Are you okay?"_

"Special kinda juice from some special friends of mine. Wanted to make sure I wouldn't get angry and separate his head from his torso," she glared at Peter who just smiled impishly. "Isaac's healing up."

" _Good to hear that."_

"I told you about that family Isaac saved me from, right? As it turns out, they're now hunting for me and they might be closing in, but my… friend doesn't know when they'll be here. What about taking some time off from playing with the puppies and come and visit us?"

" _What about Isaac?"_

"He'll live."

" _Text me the address, I'll be on my way."_


	20. Chapter 20

The following morning Isaac managed to take a nice, hot shower, easing the pain in his body. Every single part of his body hurt, and while he'd been through worse - electrical burns were a pain in the ass and he'd been in hospital then, this was far more painful. No morphine to keep him happily sedated.

He had thrown away his clothes and managed to get into a pair of sweats and a shirt before starting to make breakfast for himself and Bella. And the coffee, like he usually did every morning. It was strange to see an half empty bottle of whiskey standing on the table, or he thought it was whiskey, could have been really dark piss, but it smelled like alcohol and it didn't have a label on it.

He took a swig from the bottle and blinked at the taste. It was delicious! He took another one, and maybe it was wrong to drink without having something to eat, but werewolves couldn't get drunk, so no harm done there. He started to make the sandwiches and turned on the coffee maker, but by the time the coffee was done, he was wobbling on his feet as he had taken a few more swigs of the bottle.

It was numbing his pain, which was good, and whomever created this had a brilliant mind. He brought breakfast over to the table before sitting down and preferring the alcohol over the coffee while he nibbled on his sandwich. Oh yeah, the buzz was fantastic. He had eaten all the sandwiches and felt guilty, he was supposed to leave a few for Bella to eat! He got up with a whine, took the bottle with him and attempted to walk over to the fridge to get some more cold cuts out.

He tripped over his own feet, however, landing on the floor not so graciously, hurting himself again, but he couldn't help but laugh at his own antics as he managed to sit up against the fridge and drank some more to drown out the new pain from his fall. Gracious, he was not.

"Hey uhm… Bella?" he called out to her. "Are you… like uh… awake?" Isaac then let out a giggle. He'd never been a lightweight even before he turned into a werewolf, what was in this shit?

Bella waddled out of her bedroom, her head feeling heavy as fuck, truly hungover but remembering everything she and Peter discussed the previous day and blinked when she saw Isaac sitting against the fridge with that whiskey in his hands. "Did you drink that?"

He took another swig from the bottle. "Correction; I _am_ drinking this because it numbs my pain!"

"What are you doing on the floor?" she asked as she sat down next to him and took the bottle from him.

"I tripped," he let out a snort. "That's some serious stuff," he said as he pointed at the bottle. "Where did you get it?"

"Peter and Jasper made it for us creatures who can't get drunk the normal way," she replied as she took a sip from the bottle and then set it aside. "But you shouldn't be drinking, Isaac."

"But it was there! And I ate all the sandwiches so I needed to make you new ones!"

"You're not supposed to be on your feet. Not until Peter says so."

"Peter can suck his own dick," Isaac muttered with a sigh and tried to get up but failed. "Ah, I'll just stay down here then."

"Do your arms still hurt?" She asked him as she got back to her feet, ready to pull him up as she held out her hand. She saw the cogs working in Isaac's head before he took her hand with his left arm so she could pull him to his feet. She was quick enough to steady him before he'd fall over again, and helped him to sit down in the chair again. "It sucks that you've numbed your pain, you know, I would have loved to know how you're doing."

"I'm fine," he smiled at her. "Truly. I can walk, and once Peter says I can, I'll turn and make me heal a bit faster."

"I'd rather you take your time and don't force anything, you have all the time in the world," she said as she took a sip of her coffee. Yeah, the decision to have an expensive coffee maker in their apartment had been a great idea, it was very good for the soul. "Just take it easy, chill."

"I'm in pain, Bella, I want it to go away," he said as he glared at her, but he looked more like a puppy with his head cocked instead of threatening.

Bella hummed for an answer as she took a sip of her coffee, looking at him. "So, Peter got me drunk last night and I had an information overload, but that was necessary."

"Do I need to be drunk for this?"

She shrugged then. "I'd rather not, because then you'll fall over again. Drink your coffee, and until I find you've sobered up enough, you're going to let me talk." Bella fed him about five cups of coffee before he had sobered up somewhat, and she was confident that he'd retain the information she was about to give him.

"I'm going to kill Peter," he mumbled after Bella had told him everything she had learned the previous night. The Cullens on the prowl, Peter advising to have Derek over… The truck being completely dead and not salvageable… "And I need to apologize to Jer when he gets back." Oh yeah, because Isaac had been an idiot and not checked himself over for wounds, Jeremy died, and then came back again, but that wasn't the point. He still died.

"Look, Peter believes that we can't take on the Cullens by ourselves, which is why Derek is coming over. Just him. Argent is going to babysit. Yes, we have our new friends who could help us out, too, but maybe it's not such a bad idea to have him here. You said it yourself, he's no longer an Alpha, but he's strong and capable."

"I still don't like the idea."

"And you're still hurting, so if the Cullens would arrive like today, you'd be incapable of fighting," Bella said as she rose to her feet and ruffled his hair. "Come on, let's get you back to bed."

"I could just tu-"

"No turning until Peter says you can," she said as she swatted him on his head. "Bed. Now. I'm going to take a shower and then I'll be getting dressed. No more alcohol for you, either. Got that?"

~o.O.o~

Around lunch time, Peter came up to the apartment to get Bella and Isaac to join Myriam and Caroline downstairs for lunch while they waited for the arrival of Alaric and Jeremy. Isaac was doing a lot better, and, under the cautious eye of Peter, was allowed to turn or partially turn to speed up the healing process.

It had sounded like a bad idea, but when Isaac emerged from his bedroom, he looked significantly better; there was more color on his face than that morning, too.

A lot more coherent, too. The first thing he did was to give Peter a hug. "Thank you, man, you know, for saving my ass."

"Anytime, Isaac. I could hardly leave my best employee stranded and left to die."

Isaac then let go of him and punched his friend in the face, fracturing the bones in his hand again upon impact. "And that's for telling Bella stuff without me, stuff that I don't like!"

"It's just Derek, dude. He's her brother, and your beef with him is from a long time ago; get over it."

Isaac growled at him then before realizing why he had been woken up. "Did someone say something about food?"

Bella punched his arm before looping her arm through his and started to lead him out of the apartment. "You're feeling better then?"

"Oh yeah, loads," he nodded. "Still not completely back to normal but turning definitely helped to give that extra push, you know. I'm really sorry for what happened. I didn't mean to scare you."

"You could have died."

"Every mission has-"

"You could have died, Isaac," she said again as she stopped walking and looked at him. "And I wasn't kidding when I said you were grounded."

"She's right about that," Peter said as he passed the two to give them some privacy. He knew that Bella still had to talk to Isaac about something important and he didn't need to be there for that.

"But…"

"We help people. Here," she motioned around her. "Peter has his ways to have the right people know about this place. You're staying put."

He looked at her for a moment, worry and pain all across her face and he couldn't help but relent. For now. "Fine." Yeah, he had worried her. Of course he had worried her, but it was what he did, did she really want him to stop? Solely focus on the B&B and food? Only play defense? He was going to be so bored out of his skull!

She wasn't entirely convinced with his answer, but it was a start. At least he was coherent and back in his own mind so she could talk to him about something else, later. Although she was now wondering if maybe, just maybe, it was better to put it off. "Come, let's join our friends for lunch. I was very thankful for Myriam and Caroline being here after your accident. There is no doubt that they're wondering how you're doing."

"There he is, sleeping beauty!" Myriam grinned as she greeted him by raising a cup of coffee. "Good to see you up and walking, Isaac, you had us worried."

Isaac stumbled slightly when Caroline rushed to him and hugged him tightly. "Woah, easy… Not completely healed yet…"

"Yes, and this is why Bella should have allowed me or Myriam to have given you our blood, so you'd heal up faster," Caroline said as she playfully hit him on the head. "Our blood heals people, you know."

"Now that's just gross," Isaac muttered as he had managed to pry Caroline off of him and sat down at the table. "I heal fast as it is… really don't need your blood to help with that, sorry Caroline, but blood is gross."

"Yeah, that's what she said. On top of the fact that you hadn't told her everything about your kind of wolf and all," Caroline smirked at him.

"I did!"

"Not when it comes to wolfsbane and mistletoe, only the fucking basics," Bella muttered as she sat down next to Isaac and poured herself a coffee. "So that will be something you're going to teach me, and otherwise I'll ask Derek," she then looked at the other girls. "Who, by the way, is coming and we're going to have to have a talk with Klaus, too. And Alaric, and Jeremy."

"Oh, interesting," Myriam smiled, intrigued. "What do you need my man for?"

"His help for when the Cullens come here to party."

Myriam smirked then as she shot off a message to her boyfriend. "I think he'll gladly leave New Orleans for that, and he might take some of his siblings and vampires with him."

"Him and some of his siblings would suffice," Peter said as he walked into the restaurant. "We wouldn't want to risk drawing the attention of the hunters now, would we? Because while they'd love a fight, chances are that once we're through with the Cullens, they'd come after us."

"Wait, when _are_ they coming?" Isaac asked as he took one of the sandwiches off the plate. Bella had said that Peter hadn't known, but Peter was known not to say too much about things because things could still change. He still hated Peter for suggesting Derek to come as well, but on the other hand, Derek was a good fighter. Strong. Even as a beta. And Derek had experience with being an Alpha and with Bella having no experience at all, it would be nice for her to spend some time with her brother.

Isaac finally trusted Bella enough to know that she'd never turn into an asshole. He vaguely remembered her laying with him in bed, taking his pain away, and she'd been so gentle. But then again, that could have been his feverish mind. He still found it strange that he was back in a pack, a pack of two, but he knew that it had saved him after the accident. Isaac knew he should have died while the car tumbled down that side of the mountain. However, he would never admit that to Bella because she'd get really angry.

"I can't exactly say when, all I know is that they're coming. Rather sooner than later. You know very well that what I do isn't quite exact science, Isaac," he said with a sigh. "But what I do know is that Jasper is close with Alaric and Jeremy. He sent me a text message," he added as he waved his phone around.

"I'm just glad they're okay," Caroline said with a nod. "I've asked the girls if they put a spell on their dad after he told them he'd be gone for a few days and that I wouldn't be mad if they had and… well, I ended up hugging them because they had saved their dad. Not that I told them that he was in an accident, because that would have upset them… but they shouldn't have done it… but I'm happy about it… I can't be mad at them for this."

"Yeah, neither can I," Alaric's voice sounded, causing Caroline to squeal and hug him tightly. "They'll be getting all the ice cream they want for the next week," he laughed as he returned the hug.

"Hey man, glad to see you up and around," Jeremy smiled at Isaac. "You look a lot better than you did yesterday!"

"Yeah… I'm really sorry guys… about what happened. I should have known better," Isaac apologized.

"Hey, it's also on us," Alaric said after Caroline let go of him. "We should have checked each other over for wounds before leaving the way that we did."

Jasper walked in behind them with a box of pastries they picked up in Richmond for lunch. "But at least that Ikiryō is safe, right? I think that's all that-"

Bella growled at Jasper and dug the nails of her transformed hand into her seat. "That's not all that matters, Jasper, and you know that!"

He blinked at her for a moment as he picked up on her feelings before looking at Peter. "They haven't had _the_ talk yet?"

"He's her beta now, I think that's a step in the right direction," Peter replied all smug as he stepped closer to his friend. "But you need to be careful what you're saying, she's still not happy with you around, but we're going to need you for when the Cullens come."

"What?" Jasper looked at his brother. "They're coming?"

"Emmett and Rosalie are on their way too, for protection and helping to get rid of the rest of them," he said before turning to Bella and Isaac. "Hey, maybe you two should go to the mayor and give her a heads up that a bunch of vampires are coming to town. Ones that are sparkly and might attract some attention."

"Oh no," Bella shook her head. " _You_ go. You're our boss, you go. And while you're at it, go have a chat with our sheriff, who's not happy with more supernaturals in town."

"Well, we could all avoid this by going some place less secure, to keep the humans of Mystic Falls happy," Peter shrugged. "It's not too late to divert your brother to some other place, either."

"Pack your bags, you two, we're going to New Orleans," Myriam smiled widely. "Klaus has enough room for sleepovers, and if not, I know places you can stay. It's like the most secure place there is, loads of vampires for protection and New Orleans is used to supernatural warfare."

Bella looked at her friends and slowly nodded. It _was_ the better option. For Mystic Falls and for her, because while she invited Derek over, she wasn't really sure yet about opening her new home for him. A place that she and Isaac still had to get used to themselves. "Only if Klaus doesn't mind," she pointed out, but Myriam already handed Bella her phone with the conversation showing that Klaus would rather have them come to New Orleans to keep Mystic Falls safe, too. "Well, okay then," she let out a breath as she took her phone and texted her brother that they were going to New Orleans instead, and that he needed to go there himself.

 _I am not going anywhere near you and Isaac until you've talked about your… situation. That was my plan for coming to Mystic Falls too. Only arrive when you've talked about it. Did you two manage to do that yet?_

"Motherfucker," Bella scowled as she gently elbowed Isaac. "We can't leave, apparently, not until we've talked, so let's go to our home."

"Is it something I did?" Isaac wondered out loud as he followed her back upstairs. "I mean… it's not something bad, is it? We're good, right? Are you having second thoughts? Already?"

Oh, of course his head went straight for the anxiety and his issues with trust and that same anxiety. "No, Isaac, it's not something bad. Don't worry, but we do need to talk about something but without _them_." She gently took his hand as she continued to lead him up the stairs.

Oh god, what if her admission would send him running?

* * *

A/N: Hi guys! Don't worry, we're not even close to ending this story, so this message is not to say that the next one will be the last. Because it won't be. I promise.

However, I've just started to post a new story called Lagniappe, it's an origin story of Myriam Jenkins, the OC that Meeko and I like to use for our stories lately. Chapters of that story will also be uploaded weekly, so hit that follow button and read it! It's all in The Vampire Diaries/The Originals universe :)

Meeko (you can find her on ffnet under meekobb) wrote an NCIS New Orleans/Hawaii 5-0 crossover with Myriam in it, and all human Mikaelsons. Go check it out, it's awesome :)


	21. Chapter 21

"So… what did you want to talk to me about?" He asked hesitantly as he sat down on the couch. Bella immediately sat down with him and crawled against him, making sure he put his arms around her, just the way they normally sat to watch Netflix.

"As I said, nothing bad," she sighed happily, closing her eyes for a moment as she tried to get rid of the remaining stress and worry that she had over him. "But something very important according to a lot of people, including my brother who's a former Alpha."

"Oh boy," Isaac let out a breath.

"There's nothing wrong, Isaac. In fact… things couldn't be better or get more better, I think. I hope," she said thoughtfully. "I really hope, but it's fine if it's not going anywhere."

He buried his nose in her hair and took a deep breath. "Use your words, Bella, I'm not a mindreader."

"I like you. Like… I really like you," she said softly. "Like… more than I probably should or maybe not, but I pretty much want to do all the things you do when you're with someone. I mean, I love sitting in your arms while we watch TV or talk, but I want more."

"Ah."

"I understand you don't feel that way… it's stupid, really, but I need to know where I stand. Because I'm your Alpha now, and they've been telling me that I need to deal with my feelings for you, otherwise I might drive myself crazy…"

"No, I understand," Isaac replied, a little bit hesitant. This was the last thing he needed to stop worrying over. To open up about more. "To be honest, I… I've had those feelings for you for a while now but… I was always afraid that you were going to leave me."

She looked up at him and blinked. "Seriously, the same reason you're giving me for asking me to become your Alpha?"

"Well, I suppose this is more intimate, don't you think? Opening my mind, my life to you is completely different than opening my heart," he replied, a small smile on his lips as he looked at her. "I wasn't ready, but I think I am now."

"Are you absolutely sure? I mean… I don't want to push you into anything you don-" she couldn't even finish her sentence as Isaac kissed her, hard. She turned around a little so she wasn't uncomfortable and answered his kiss. It felt so good to kiss him, to feel his entire being through that kiss, and their minds somehow connected. She could _feel_ him. The wolf bond between them heightened, she could feel it. And it was… so special.

Now she understood why Derek said that not talking about this with Isaac would eventually drive her crazy. But now they had confessed to their true feelings, Bella felt complete. She no longer had the feeling that she was missing something.

After one kiss.

This was ridiculous.

But it felt oh so good to feel this way. Complete. Home.

Eventually they had to break off their kiss for air and both Isaac and Bella were blushing furiously. "Well… that was something," she said breathlessly.

"Yeah," he let out a chuckle as he pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Kinda silly of us to have waited to have this conversation, come to think of it."

"No more holding back?"

"Yeah, let's… try that."

~o.O.o~

Peter bought everyone who was going to New Orleans a plane ticket out of Richmond while he and Jasper went on foot; they were going to intercept Rosalie and Emmett somewhere on the way. While Isaac slept on the plane; it was a nearly 7 hour flight, Bella couldn't help but think about the things that could go _wrong._

Starting with Klaus. While he was Myriam's beau, and she liked Myriam, she wasn't sure why the vampire wanted to help them out. It wasn't his fight. His precious vampires could get hurt or die when fighting Cold Ones - it wasn't as if regular vampires were durable. Then again, it was easier for their kind to make more.

Maybe Bella didn't know Klaus well enough; after all, the first time she had met him was during Isaac's presentation at magic school and he'd been a jerk. A horny jerk who skedaddled with her friend to have sex somewhere. Myriam seemed to be happy to go home, too. It felt wrong for her to keep Myriam from her lover and once all of this over, Bella was going to study hard to make sure Myriam could go back to Klaus; despite the fact that Myriam had told Bella that she and Klaus often took _breaks_ from each other and that it was alright; it had been Myriam's choice, after all, to come and work for Bella and Isaac.

How could she be certain that she could trust Klaus' allies? Because Peter said so? Because of Myriam? Was it one of those things she couldn't control and had to trust that it was going to be alright?

Then there was New Orleans. It had always been a city on her bucket list. She'd always wanted to visit New Orleans because of its rich history and architecture. Taste the atmosphere and hope it would be as good as travel brochures described it. Such as the food, it was advertised as _the best_. No doubt Isaac would love to taste the local cuisine, too. She wanted to walk through the French Quarter with a plastic cup filled with alcohol, it was actually legal to get drunk in public. Although that had been one of the things she'd wanted to do when she still was a human. Or at least believed to be one. Normal alcohol didn't do anything for her anymore.

She then hoped that Peter and Jasper would take some of their special stuff with them. With Isaac almost all healed up, she really wanted to get wasted with him.

She didn't want New Orleans to end up in rubble because of the fight with the Cold Ones. If it were just the Cullens coming for her, she was sure that destruction would remain to a minimum. Not if they had the Volturi guard coming as well.

Half way through the trip Myriam made her way to Bella and sat down on her lap with a big grin on her face. "Don't even think of pushing me off," she said as she put her arms around Bella's neck and sighed happily. "Do you have any idea how happy it makes me to go back to New Orleans with my friends and get to show them around? I swear, you and Isaac will stuff your faces with Po-Boys, Beignets, and all the other good food that's around. I'll show you places that not a lot of people know about and we're going to paint the town red. _Red_."

"I doubt we'll get to see much of the city," Bella let out a snort.

"Pah! We don't know when they'll come, do we? For all we know you'll be in New Orleans for months! We're definitely not going to stay at the Compound and hide away, Bella. I mean, the place is gorgeous, but with the whole family in that building, the large home can become really small and in some cases, violent." Myriam then thought for a moment and smiled widely. "Hell, I might talk Klaus into getting us a place for ourselves. On the other hand, you and Isaac need to socialize more and know that you can trust other people. Like Klaus. And his brother Kol.. oh, I think Isaac is going to just _love_ Kol. Rebekah is alright too and Elijah… well… he's a dick, but I think you'll get along with him as long as you don't look further than the surface that he's showing. Hope's still in school and Freya is likely staying at her girlfriend's because a whole family of vampires can be frustrating."

Bella let out a snort. "Who are you and what have you done to my Myriam? You're like a hurricane!"

"Because I'm going home. With you."

"Yeah, but for a very serious reason! I mean, why does Klaus even want to help? This is not his fight, and he hardly knows me!"

Myriam thought for a moment and nodded. "Yeah, well, he knows a lot about you because you're my friend and you're amazing and I just can't stop talking about you, and Isaac, when he and I are on the phone. Because you're a good boss, and we always have fun. On top of that, there's peace with the witches of New Orleans and the werewolves are behaving as well. He's bored. And hates the Cold Ones, but there's never been a good reason to beat the shit out of them and burn them."

Bella stared blankly at her friend. "That simple?"

"Yep. And he actually likes the mission you and Isaac are on. Klaus finds it hilarious that it was started by a Cold One, at least your side of things, but he likes how organized everything is. And that it's about time that someone would help supernaturals who are in trouble and those who can't protect themselves," Myriam shifted a little and smiled then. "Okay, so you're doing it because of the hunters, but… back in the day I toyed with the idea to have a safe house for humans who'd been hurt or taken advantage of by supernaturals. Vampires in particular, because eight out of ten times human problems with the supernatural are vampire related."

"Then why didn't you?"

"Klaus and his family were mainly on the run and I didn't feel like settling on my own. Instead I was his contact with the rest of the world."

"Well, maybe you could start now. Do your own thing," Bella replied simply and when she saw the look on Myriam's face, she rolled her eyes. "It's that simple. If you want to do something, do it. It's not like you don't have the funds for it."

The vampire thought for a moment and then planted a big, sloppy kiss on Bella's cheek. "When you feel confident enough you can run the B&B on your own, I will, how's that?"

"Maybe Peter can help you?" Bella smirked, knowing full well that Myriam loved this whole saving business, but that she wanted to be part of something and not run something on her own. "I mean… why not?"

"Are you trying to get rid of me, Bella Swan?" Myriam asked playfully.

"No! Not at all!"

"Good, because then we can simply expand the business in Mystic Falls. Hell, make the entirety of Mystic Falls a safe haven for humans who got hurt by supes… I bet that Matt will definitely like that idea, and the Mayor too."

Now that was a great idea! "We'll definitely need Peter's help with that. I mean… building a B&B and a new entertainment hall for the city is one thing. And we help supernaturals who are being hunted in secret… but to repopulate the city with survivors? That's not something you can hide and counts for taking over Mayoral duties from a reluctant mayor…"

"I think it's a great idea and definitely something we need to discuss further when Isaac's back to his senses, my lover placated with the finest bourbon and Peter not sparkling," Myriam snorted. "Speaking of which, Freya's willing to temporarily dull the sparkle of the boys. If they behave, she might find goodness in her heart to make it permanent."

"Oh, they'd love that."

Myriam looked at the still sleeping Isaac and then back to Bella. "You two had _the_ talk, huh?"

"Yep," Bella let out a slight giggle. The conversation she had had with Isaac that morning still made her feel giddy, because it was easier than she had believed it to be.

"Maybe we should treat you to a hotel room close to the compound for a night or two so you two can _celebrate_ ," Myriam winked at her.

"Myr!" Bella reacted shocked.

The vampire laughed then. "Oh, don't play coy with me, _cherie_. The both of you could use a good fuck!"

"I don't disagree with that, but Isaac's still healing!" Bella hissed. "Don't go projecting things in my head."

"I'm fine," Isaac muttered sleepily, opening his eyes for a moment and blinked when he saw Myriam sit on Bella's lap. "That must be so uncomfortable for the both of you…"

"Nah, I'm good," Myriam smirked. "I have big plans for you two, Lahey, once you set foot in New Orleans and after you meet the rest of the family."

Isaac groaned as he closed his eyes again and let out a deep breath. "At least we'll have good food in New Orleans."

~o.O.o~

A car was waiting for them at the airport and as they were making the half an hour drive to the French Quarter, Bella couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, her romanticized ideas about New Orleans were just that. The interstate looked just like the one going through Forks. Boring. Shops. Cars. So many gas stations. A Waffle House.

Of course, a damn Waffle House, which reminded her of one of those stories she'd read about the protagonist being on some kind of menu there or something like that. Bella had always wanted to visit one because of it, it had been a good story, one she had thoroughly enjoyed.

For the most part, that half an hour drive was boring and nothing special. It was only when they passed one of those cemeteries above ground that her heart started to pump faster. They truly were in New Orleans!

Myriam told her about the area they were driving through; first Tremé, South 7th Ward and then Marigny, before getting closer and closer to the French Quarter. Myriam told her that their driver was taking a different route specifically to show them around, just a little.

It was slightly disheartening to see that so much of New Orleans was still in disarray after all those years, some places only boarded up or no home in the plot. Bella was in awe of the Marigny Opera House. It looked like a church but it was so beautiful and broken, but so beautiful nonetheless.

It was as if New Orleans suddenly turned into this magical place; the houses, the colours, the advertisement on the little shops and bars, happy faces everywhere, just as Bella had imagined the French Quarter to be and she couldn't wait to get out of the car and sniff the atmosphere.

She was highly disappointed when she did just that after the driver parked in front of a huge building. She smelled alcohol, vomit, weed, cigarette smoke, blood, food and all the food waste, layers of perfume and makeup and it was disgusting. "Oh, I should not have done that…"

"Disgusting, isn't it?" Isaac let out a snort. "Try not to use your werewolf senses."

"You've been here before? Of course you've been here before!"

"Yep, food festival and my food was inferior to that of the others!" He laughed as he put an arm around her. "Just keep breathing, it'll get out of your nose soon enough."

"Well, I for one, never believed I would ever set foot in this place," Jeremy said as he looked up at the building. "And it's even a question if Klaus lets me in."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about the big puppy," Myriam said as she gently pat the hunter's back. "He's fine with you at the school and in charge of his daughter. Kol's the one you have to worry about." She then let out a squeal and rushed into the building's courtyard, tackling her beloved. "We're home!"

"I can see that, love," Klaus smiled at her after she was done kissing his face off. "Welcome home." He then looked at Bella, Isaac and Jeremy who were looking around in wonder. "And you lot, welcome to New Orleans! Come join us in the dining room where we'll share a meal and introduce you to my siblings."

Isaac wondered if the Mikaelsons were just as rich as Peter. Maybe all vampires had amassed a wealth over the centuries they lived. The Mikaelsons were older than Peter, after all. And they flaunted it. Just like Peter. But their home in New Orleans was beautiful. Authentic. Old.

They were introduced to Elijah, the oldest brother and the one who loved history and his politics. Then Freya, the oldest sister, older than Elijah, but she was a witch and she used to be immortal. Isaac had heard whispers about her, never knowing that she was a Mikaelson, only knowing that nobody had ever found her. Then there was Kol, who seemed to be the age of him and Bella, and a lot of fun. And Rebekah. She was the youngest and not looking thrilled to be at the table with a bunch of strangers.

Until Bella told her story as the food was served by a handful of servants and why they were in New Orleans.

"Cold One trouble?" Rebekah blinked. "Now why am I not surprised? Those wankers can't seem to leave well enough alone!"

"It's been a while since we've had a proper fight," Kol replied, rubbing his hands together in glee. "I'm in! When are they coming?"

"According to one of the good Cold Ones, soon," Bella replied, surprised by the agreements of helping her. "Myriam suggested to come to New Orleans so that we can keep Mystic Falls out of this."

"It's a wise decision, Mystic Falls has been through enough," Elijah agreed as he took a sip of his drink. "I am certain some of our allies would love to take part in this fight as well."

"Wow, Elijah!" Myriam feigned to be shocked as she put her hand in front of her mouth for dramatic effect. "You're actually agreeing to helping Bella?"

"As Kol said, it's been a while since we've had a proper work out. Besides, it's the Cullens and likely a part of the Volturi. We've been looking for a valid reason to go after them for years."

"Both Elijah and Niklaus lost one of their… _treasures_ to them, many years ago. They nearly took Myriam too, but that was Myriam merely getting into trouble so that Nik would come and save her."

"As it turned out, she didn't need saving," Klaus said amused.

"I was bored," Myriam shrugged.

"Wait, why didn't you tell me that you've encountered the Cold Ones before? The Cullens in particular?" Bella was surprised, why didn't her friend tell her this?

Myriam shrugged. "Because it's not important. It's in the past. Ancient history. Your problem, however, is not. And it's not just you. They'd endanger your business too. They could grab Isaac to get to you and hurt him, or worse."

"Yes, now, let's enjoy our dinner and afterwards, we'll show you your living quarters for the duration of your stay," Klaus smiled as he looked at his younger brother. "And you're going to behave."

"I don't want _him_ under our roof, Nik," Kol spat. "He killed me once!"

"And I told you I was sorry! Jeez, Kol, get over it," Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Besides, those days are far behind me."

"You're still a hunter. What if you get the urge?"

"I am a PE teacher at a school with witches and werewolves. And I've never had the urge to slice them up or something. Seriously, dude. I play videogames to relax and go on the occasional saving trip with Isaac!"

"Brilliant! I think that Kol, Isaac and Jeremy should have a boys day out tomorrow while Myriam, Freya, Bella and I will paint the town red!" Rebekah cheered.

Elijah couldn't hide his smile behind his glass. "Look out, New Orleans, here comes trouble!"

~o.O.o~

That night, both Isaac and Bella couldn't sleep, they were sleeping in the same room, on the same bed, but there was this kind of sexual tension between them that they didn't dare to act upon in a house filled with vampires and neither of them dared to admit to it, either. Instead, they decided to go and have a quiet look around in the house, because it was huge and sort of alien.

They'd stay clear of the closed doors, of course, not knowing if there was a bedroom behind them, but the first room they encountered upstairs was the study that was filled with ancient books and artifacts. Ancient knives that Isaac couldn't help but admire, and the books was something that Bella was very interested in. An easel was strategically placed at the window with paint nearby, and a half finished painting.

They made their way to one of the parlors and the paintings on the wall were quite beautiful. There was a grand piano standing in the middle of the room and just as Isaac wanted to walk over to Bella to look out the window, he tripped over something. "What the…" He managed not to fall flat on his face, but instead turned around and saw what looked like a body wrapped in a blanket. "Is that…?"

"A body? Yes," Myriam's voice sounded quite annoyed, but Isaac could tell that her annoyance wasn't directed to her friends. "Sorry, I just had to follow you around to make sure you wouldn't get into trouble," she added before walking over to the body and kicked it before uncovering her face. "This is Aurora, one of Klaus' ex girlfriends. He never had the heart to kill her so Freya put her under. After all these years, I'm still waiting for him to decide what to do with her. He does allow me to kick her every now and then when I feel like it, because man, Aurora was a piece of work! We've put her here in Elijah's sitting room so that I wouldn't get too annoyed by her presence."

Both Bella and Isaac looked at the dessicated red headed vampire and then at Myriam. "That is… fucked up," Bella replied. "Why won't you just let her go or something?"

"Oh please," Myriam huffed. "There's no way in hell that we're going to allow her to roam free again, she'll only want to take her revenge on us for killing her brother and her boyfriend. She's insane," she added as she covered up Aurora's face again. "Like clinically. Diagnosed. And a vampire with mental health issues? Well, everything is enhanced. She's a special kind of crazy alright."

"It's still…"

"Oh, be happy that it wasn't a fresh human body, you're in a house filled with vampires, after all. Oh! But let's show you the basement, where we keep our blood supply!"

* * *

 **A/N:** Don't forget! I've started to post a new The Vampire Diaries/The Originals story that tells the story of Myriam Jenkins! It's called Lagniappe and you can find it in my profile!


	22. Chapter 22

"Now just because there's impending doom, doesn't mean we can't look gorgeous while we fight," Rebekah said as she lead the four of them out of the courtyard. "And make your ex-boyfriend… no wait, former fiancé, a jealous fucker and distracted."

"What?"

"No offense, darling, but your clothing style is horrendous."

"Bekah," Freya laughed as she shook her head. "It's not horrendous."

Rebekah looked at her sister for a moment and back at the girl next to her and sighed. "No, you're right... It's abysmal. You're in New Orleans now, Bella, you need to dress the part. The heat won't make it comfortable for you dressed in jeans."

"I am not going to wear skirts!"

"Short skirts. Dresses. Mind you, I think you have a wonderful body, it's time to use it to your advantage," Rebekah said smugly.

"And make Isaac drool… Oh! Speaking of which, we need to put Isaac and Bella up in a hotel for a day or two," Myriam said excitedly. "You see, they've only just seen reason and became a couple and they haven't had the chance to truly celebrate it."

Bella felt how her cheeks turned beet red. "Myr!"

Freya sighed happily. "Ah, young love…"

"I doubt anyone would mind to hear them have sex in their room, though," Myriam grinned. "We all love to hear a good romp every now and then…"

The young werewolf could only cover her horrified face with her hands. "Oh, my, god!"

"There's this great hotel just down a couple of buildings from the compound," Rebekah mused. "We'll give the pups some privacy, shall we? But for now, we're going to get our coffee and go shopping."

Bella was taken to almost every clothing boutique in New Orleans, or at least, that's what it felt like. Rebekah happily picked out clothes for everyone and, Bella had to admit, she had great taste. The dresses were going to be something she'd have to get used to, but they weren't old fashioned or ugly or even impossible to wear. Nothing like what Alice tried to force her into in the past. And Rebekah wasn't even forcing her, she just handed Bella the clothes to try it on and Bella made her own decisions. It felt great!

They had lunch at this amazing restaurant with great food and then they walked some more through the French Quarter, Rebekah happily telling stories about how they helped shape New Orleans to what it was today, and the importance of women in history. Such as Dr. Elizabeth Magnus Cohen, the first woman to practise medicine in Louisiana in the late 1800's. Then there were the suffragists, the teachers, the doctors, authors, philanthropists and the former slaves who became better than the ones who had held them. Then there was, of course, Marie LaVeau, the famous Voodoo Priestess.

Myriam added that Rebekah was one of those women of note, that in the 18th century she happened on a carriage filled with young girls from France in order for them to marry wealthy gentlemen in New Orleans. At that time, the men in New Orleans were far from being gentle and noble and Rebekah saved those girls from a life of suffering, setting them free after killing the men who came to attack the carriage.

"Us women need to stick together," Rebekah nodded. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I hate it when men think that they need to think for us, or have the need to manipulate us. We're bloody equals and if not, then I will show them reason."

Bella smiled then. "You want to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

"Oh, make no mistake, darling, while I think what you and your beau do is admirable, especially working with a Cold One, but it would be nothing for me."

"Are you sure?" Myriam asked teasingly. "Because Bella and I have been talking about maybe expanding it a little bit and we could use all the help we can get."

"Expanding, how?" Freya wondered as she looked at her sister-in-law.

"By taking care of _humans_ hurt by the supernatural," Myriam replied proudly. "Look, Bella and Isaac look after the supernaturals who can't help themselves. Either because they're not strong enough to fight the hunters or simply because they want a safe haven. Like there are bad humans, there are bad supernatural beings out there. I think that it'd be great to help those affected."

"And where do you want to do that?"

"Well, I was thinking that we could repopulate Mystic Falls with them? And maybe have like an extra location here in New Orleans so that we can travel between Mystic Falls and New Orleans so we're not far away from home all the time?"

"Splendid, I'm in," Rebekah smiled widely. "It also means I get to spend more time with Bella and annoy Caroline."

Freya smiled then. "I think Keelin would be willing to help out too. And she's a doctor!"

"Great! That settles it. After we help Bella with her Cold One problem, we're going to do this!" Myriam cheered and planted a big, sloppy kiss on Bella's cheek. "Now, let's go and find Bella some saucy underwear."

~o.O.o~

"Right, first order of business, I'm going to introduce you to the Alpha of the Crescent pack, the werewolves here in New Orleans," Kol smirked as he lead Jeremy and Kol out of the compound. "Hope's mother. See, Nik wanted to go and ask for their help but he and Hayley are only on speaking terms because of my niece so Elijah thought it would be better that the ask of help would come from another werewolf."

"I'm a different kind, and I'm unfamiliar, why do you think she'd listen to me?"

Kol huffed. "You're a werewolf, duh."

"Shouldn't we send Bella? I mean… she's an Alpha herself. Woman to woman, would work, right?"

"Relax, man, Haley won't hurt you," Jeremy replied as he pointed at Kol. "But she might hurt him for being a Mikaelson."

It wasn't even lunch time and Isaac was dragged into a bar, Rousseau's. He hated New Orleans. "We're not open!" A voice called from the back, stating the obvious because the place was obviously filled with people.

"Oh shush, Josh, it's me," Kol replied, wishing that he could have killed the young vampire. But, alas, Davina had liked him and Kol merely kept Josh alive so that he would be reminded of the fact that Davina only liked him when he was a witch.

"Yeah, and you're not welcome here, Kol," Josh said as he made his way towards his former friend. "And you've brought friends this time. Hi, my name is Josh and if you're hanging out with him, he's trouble."

"So are we," Jeremy smirked.

"Uh, I came here to talk to the werewolf Alpha," Isaac said hesitantly. He was good at his job, when he was in a job mindset and after some preparation. This was unfair. "Hayley?"

A woman rose from her seat and approached them. "Sure, I'll talk to you, but he's going to wait outside," she said as she pointed at Kol.

"Fat chance, darling, I'll just sit here by the window, keeping an eye on you and my friends," he replied as he sat down in the window seat, his arms crossed over each other. "Besides, it's my responsibility he gets back to his alpha and girl. Otherwise I have my brother and his girl who happens to be her best friend, after me."

"Really now?" Hayley said surprised as she motioned for Isaac and Jeremy to join her at her table. "You know who I am, but I have no idea who you are."

"I'm Jeremy, I killed Kol once."

"Impressive! But then again, I already knew that because you're one of my daughter's teachers, Mr. Gilbert."

"My name's Isaac Argent," Isaac said calmly. "I'm a werewolf, like yourself, but a different kind and I'm here to seek your help. You see, I work for someone who's really into saving supernaturals from people who hurt them and our biggest concern right now is the safety of my Alpha who's been hanging out with the wrong kind of vampire."

"Cold Ones. They sparkle in the sun and are harder to kill," Jeremy added.

"The thing is that we don't know with how many they're coming, but they are coming for her and it could all end badly, even with the help from the Mikaelsons."

"How do I know that this isn't a trick? And that you're a werewolf? You don't smell like one," Hayley said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "And I don't believe anything Kol says."

"Show her your face, bro," Jeremy elbowed him. "Not just the eyes, the whole thing."

"Dude!" Isaac hissed at him. "I'm not going to turn in an establishment filled with people! That's as high key as it gets!"

"Nah, they're all witches and werewolves. It's safe," Kol said from his spot by the door. "I told you, our community looks out for their own. Give her the proof she needs."

Isaac scowled before turning briefly until he saw the surprise on Hayley's face. "What?"

"You don't turn into a wolf?"

"And you do?"

"Well, no, I'm a hybrid but… okay… so there are more kinds of werewolves."

"As far as we know, three," Jeremy said. "Your kind, his kind and then the giant pony sized kind, but they're more like shifters created to take down Cold Ones and protect humans. They haven't been doing a proper job at it."

"And let me guess, Klaus thought it'd be better if you'd lure them to New Orleans," Hayley stated before shrugging. "Sure, we're in." She scribbled her phone number on a napkin and handed it to Isaac. "Whenever you need us, send me a message and we'll come."

"It's that easy?" Isaac blinked. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. As Kol said, we look out for our own. And if your Alpha is in trouble, then we need to help you so you don't lose her or she won't lose you and the rest of her pack. I'm sure that Vincent over there will set his hatred towards the Mikaelsons aside too, to help."

"Speak for yourself, Hayley," the man replied, shaking his head. "I'm not going to mess with Cold Ones."

"Don't worry, we'll get some of the witches to help you, too," Hayley winked at Isaac. "So yeah, if you need me, text me."

"Thank you," Isaac smiled at her before getting to his feet.

Kol scowled over at the witch, shaking his head in disappointment at the man. If he gave himself a moment to hear the girl's story the way his family had, the witch would have to reevaluate some of his views and morals.

"What? You have a problem with me, Kol?" Vincent spoke up as he got off his chair.

"Nope. No problem," he murmured as he drank his drink, causing Isaac to look over with concern.

"No, you do, don't you? Because I'm not rolling over like the other witches," Vincent said let out a snort. "Because I know who you truly are. You and your family."

"Vincent." Hayley warned him. "He didn't ask for our help, the werewolf did."

"Yeah, but when _they_ are helping people, things are about to go sideways and hurt our beloved city. We _always_ have to clean up their messes." Vincent spoke passionately. "They claim to love this city but whenever they do something, they ruin it, or have you forgotten about the fall out of their power struggle with Marcel? What about Davina? Camille? Even the ancestors themselves didn't like it when Kol was consecrated as a witch so that he could be brought back and rejoin his family!"

"Alright, let's go," Jeremy said as he pushed Isaac towards the door and looked at Kol to follow his friend. "We don't need the witches, we have your sister and I could call Bonnie." Jeremy was surprised by Kol's ability to keep a lid on himself, back in the day he'd surely have torn into every witch in this bar. Restraint was never the vampire's deal.

Isaac kept looking back and forth from Kol and the Vincent guy and could sense there was definitely more to the story that they weren't quite saying. "Um, you know what, I think I'll tell Bella about this meeting and let her decide if she wants to call you since she was the one victimized by those Cold Ones. I don't know what your problem is with these guys, and I don't want to get in the middle of it, but what I do know is that since I've met them - as much as I didn't want anything to do with anybody, they've been nothing but helpful to our cause. So, thanks, but I'll pass your - agreeance to mutual aid on and then I guess let it go from there."

Jeremy looked to his friend, wondering why he just suddenly backed down from the extra help but the look that Isaac shot him shut up any words that might have come.

"But I will inform Bella about you, Hayley, thank you," he said as he pulled Kol to his feet and dragged him with him outside. "Do you know a great place to get drunk? I mean, I can't get drunk, but I think we deserved to get drunk before lunch, don't we?"

"Ah it used to be here, but I think I'd rather go home now if it's all the same to you," Kol muttered, pulling away from the wolf to walk away from the two. "You two have fun."

"Would you like to talk about her?" Isaac followed the vampire while Jeremy casually hung back, likely knowing better than to poke the sulking vampire. "It might take a while, but it gets better, you know."

"Does it?" Kol's head snapped up to meet Isaac's face. "You know, everyone keeps telling me that and it doesn't bring her back, does it?"

"But maybe they're right."

"And how would you know?"

Isaac let out a breath and glanced up the street. "Because I lost my girlfriend to the Oni. Japanese Demon Warriors who were being controlled by a Japanese Fox, a Kitsune. Oh no, wait, the one that killed her was killed by a void, looking like my then Alpha's best friend. It happened about 8 years ago. Didn't realize I wasn't quite getting over it until I met Bella."

"What the fuck were you all into?" Jeremy interrupted.

"No, wait," Kol said surprised. "You've met a Kitsune? What kind? I thought they were legends but… can you introduce me to her?"

Isaac let out a snort. "Kira's with the skinwalkers last time I heard. Couldn't quite contain the fox inside of her. Anyway, Allison and her dad were hunters, and their handmade bullets and arrows could actually kill the Oni. Until she was too slow," he sighed. "The most painful part is that she died in the arms of her ex, my Alpha, being all lovey dovey."

"I thought you said she was your girlfriend…" Jeremy said, all confused.

He shrugged then. "I guess that when you can't get what you want, you go for the next best thing. Doesn't mean that I didn't truly love her with every fibre of my being and that it was really hard to deal with her death. But it gets easier, eventually. Bella's the first one who made me trust again. Feel things. Share."

"But how can I get over Davina when I get confronted with her ghost every corner that I turn?"

"Simple," Isaac shrugged. "You move away."

"I can't leave my family, Isaac, they've only just allowed me in as a brother and not as someone who's a pain in the bloody neck."

"Oh, I have a great idea," Jeremy grinned. "Especially since you've been benched, Isaac. By both your girlfriend and your boss."

"Somehow, I don't think I'll like your idea," Isaac said suspiciously.

"Nonsense. You will love it. You'll just have to talk it through with Bella and I'm sure Kol will like the idea too."

~o.O.o~

Isaac looked around in the hotel room where he had been dropped off, and where Bella was waiting for him. "Uhh…"

"Oh, don't get me started," Bella sighed as she pulled him down on the couch with her and crawled into his arms before she started telling him about her day, how she got new clothes and how they had walked for a long time discussing history and a likely expansion to their current operations, which made Isaac laugh. "What?"

"Since when do people ask us for things to do with their lives? Or you know, since when did we become therapists?"

Bella looked at him for a moment. "Seems like you had an interesting day yourself. Spill."

Isaac told her everything about the meeting with Hope's mother, and how willing she was to help, and then that a dick of a witch refused mainly because the Mikaelsons were involved. How he had recognized the look on Kol's face, as he had seen it many times on his own. "In short… what do you say about we taking him home? Help him heal?"

Bella let out a breath as she looked at her boyfriend. Had he gone completely mental? Myriam had talked about Kol quite a lot when they were still in Mystic Falls, even Myriam felt for him and how he was stuck, still trying to get the attention and recognition from his family after all he'd been through. "You really want us to take home an ancient, unkillable vampire and help him with his issues?"

"Jeremy said that he'd love to keep doing the saving missions for Peter and he wouldn't mind doing it with Kol, and the best part is that Kol doesn't sparkle."

She ran a hand through her hair as she eyed her now boyfriend. "Well - as long as the hunters are unable to get their hands on any white oak, we would have an ace in our pocket if that's the case. But, he would have to be like our secret weapon so everyone else cannot know we are housing an Original."

"He needs our help, Bella."

"I'm not denying that or disagreeing," she smiled at him and kissed him. "But do realize that he might be around for awhile, vampires have a hard time dealing with their emotions and can be stuck for a very long time."

"Ah, like a puppy then," Isaac grinned.

"I dare you to use that reference in his face."

"Are you kidding me? He'll beat the shit out of me, or kills me, and then you'll be pissed off at me," Isaac laughed. "So uh… why are we here, exactly?"

"Oh," Bella said lightly with a shrug. "Myriam wants us to celebrate that we're now officially a couple and wouldn't want our noise to fill the house. We have this room for a couple of days."

* * *

A/N: I've also updated Lagniappe!


	23. Chapter 23

The first night they simply took their time to decompress and generally lazing about before heading out into New Orleans together the next day. Bella decided to wear the wrap dress they had bought at one of the regular retail stores. Rebekah didn't like going into that store much, finding it all mass produced and the same, but Bella had seen a gorgeous dress in the window outside and wanted to try it on. It was a soft red dress, with a few spots where there were multi colored hearts, and she loved it. She didn't even mind that the dress came above her knees, either.

And she could tell that Isaac loved it.

They went on a typical sight seeing tour, visited some museums and one of the more infamous cemeteries that Bella really wanted to see before going on a steamboat dinner tour. The boat went up and down the Mississippi river, there was live Jazz music on board and amazing Creole food. After that, they went on a Ghost and Vampire tour. Just for shits and giggles, because today, they were tourists and weren't thinking about the more pressing matters.

And it was good, to spend the day with just the two of them, talking about nothing in particular and taking things easy. And by the time they arrived back at their hotel room, Isaac's hands were all over her, his lips had been on her in the elevator and she had jumped in his arms to get them to their room faster.

For the first time in a while, the both of them slept wonderfully, nestled in each other's arms, satiated, satisfied. Loved. Sex as a werewolf was awesome, Bella found. Not only was Isaac more sensitive than a regular guy, so was she, and her body had been on fire all night.

The next day, she and Isaac explored the more immediate neighborhood, getting familiar with the alleys and roads around the compound. It's what Isaac had wanted, seeing as it would be important to know where to go if things went sideways during the fight with the Cold Ones. Places to hide. And for some reason, Bella felt as if they were being watched and it annoyed the fuck out of her. She ignored it at first, but she couldn't help but ask Isaac if she was crazy or not while devouring a beignet. "So… is it just me, or are we being watched? I feel like we're wearing big neon signs or something, saying 'look at us, we're tourists!'"

Isaac let out a snort. "No, not tourists, babe. We're an unknown type of werewolf to most of the New Orleans supernatural community. Jeremy had me turn when we met with Hayley and that bar was filled with werewolves and witches."

"Oh, great, so we're a curiosity! A freak show!"

"They're just curious, that's all. Because the wolves here, they turn into real wolves when it's the full moon and they don't have control over it unless they're wearing a ring similar to Myriam's protection ring, or unless they're a hybrid. We don't turn. We get stupid."

"Speak for yourself," Bella grinned as she took a bite out of her beignet. "You think we should try asking the witches for help again? Show them that we mean no harm but that we need their help?"

"Do we, though? I mean, I think with the allies we've gathered thanks to the Mikaelsons, and with Peter and Jasper still coming with two Cold Ones that are on our side… or maybe three if he decides to bring Charlotte… I think we can manage."

"And don't forget my brother. I had expected him to show up by now."

"Maybe he's already here and Myriam convinced him to leave us be for a couple of days?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't put it past her to do such a thing," she sighed as she relaxed into her chair. "So we're just going to have to tolerate the eyes on us?"

"Until they are certain that _we_ are no threat, I think that's the best we can do. No doubt their behaviour stems from their leader, Vincent, who wasn't happy about the Mikaelsons being involved, and truthfully, I doubt Kol will even want them to help."

She munched on her beignet and finished it as she gathered her thoughts. "It would be a hell of a lot easier with some magic on our side."

"And the witches would also be more vulnerable to the Cold One venom, they might end up seriously hurt if one gets too close."

"Like I did?"

"Well, your werewolf side was being suppressed, of course you got hurt."

"Asshole," Bella let out a laugh. "But I see your point. What about Freya, though?"

"She offered willingly."

"Meh. You know what? Fuck all this. I want to talk to this Vincent. Just out of principle. Because of Kol. I want to hear more of this story."

He smiled as he ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah… I figured you would want that," he then pointed across the street where the bar Rousseau's was. "I met him in there. No doubt he's in there again. I can smell him from here."

"Great! Let's go!" She pulled Isaac along with her and crossed the street without even looking out if she was able to and opened the door. "So, who's Vincent?" She asked loudly, her eyes scanning the inside of the bar. It looked old, worn and kinda cozy. There were some vampires inside, she could smell the other kind of wolf and then there was this black skinny dude who tried really hard not to look at her. "Great, come on, Vincent, you and I need to talk. Outside."

"Isaac, what the hell?" Hayley demanded.

"Trust me, it's best if they talk outside. Reduces the chance of blood and mayhem on our behalf," Isaac shrugged as he scratched the back of his head. "I uh… told my observations from the other day and Vincent is on her… _our_ shitlist."

"Right now he ranks even higher than my two faced, manipulative uncle, who has actually killed my sister to gain her Alpha status. So, yeah, let's have a chat," Bella added, her lips pulled back in a tight smile, baring her teeth.

"Look, I said the witches wouldn't help because the Mikaelsons are involved and whenever they're involved, this city goes into ruins."

She narrowed her eyes on him. "I don't give a shit what you think about them. I'm here about your personal attack on someone I've come to consider a friend."

"What? Kol?" Vincent laughed. "Oh please, if you consider him to be your friend, I'd really question your sanity."

"Hold on," another guy stood up and walked over, making sure he was between Vincent and this girl and this _Isaac_. "You know the Mikaelsons?"

Bella looked him up and down, quickly dismissing him with a sniff. "Yeah, so? What's it to you. This is an A and B conversation…"

"I'm just curious to how long you've known them, that's all, and I want to make sure you won't hurt my friend here."

She looked over at Isaac who shrugged. Sighing irritably, she threw her hands up. "I don't know. Klaus a few months? Though I saw him twice in that time. I met the rest of them when I arrived in New Orleans and we had dinner the first night. What's the big deal?"

"How did you get in contact with them?"

"Why do you want to know so much? Writing a book?" she questioned. "We have mutual friends where we live that put us in contact."

"They're friends of Hope's teachers," Hayley explained to him. "It's okay, Marcel, Klaus didn't seek these two out for trouble. Hope's impression of Isaac was that he was a goofball and harmless, and Bella's merely looking out for everyone else. They're good people. Helping other supernaturals with the hunter problems."

"Oh, like those idiots in California?" Marcel huffed. "I've heard the stories."

Bella shrugged and studied her nails. "That pup doesn't know what the fuck he's doing. We just do it bigger and better. Next time I see him, remind me to shove his snout into a concrete wall, Isaac."

He then blinked at her. "You could have just allowed me to keep beating the shit out of him when I was doing so!"

"No, because I would have jumped you there and then. You're mine, now. He'd better stay away from us," she smiled at him as she gently pat his arm before looking at Vincent. "Are you coming outside with us or not? Because I don't mind having this conversation here, but the risk of blood being spilled in large quantities is much higher than when we do it outside."

"I'm coming with," Marcel said as he followed Vincent out.

"Hey," Hayley said as Bella and Isaac were about to follow Vincent. "You need to watch your backs. Marcel's dangerous, even Klaus is wary of him now while he raised Marcel like a son. He can't be killed."

"Thanks, Hayley, I appreciate the head's up," Isaac nodded as he followed Bella out.

Once outside, Bella smacked Vincent against the side of the building. "You need to enlighten me, Vincent, because you're a witch, and from what I was told, Kol Mikaelson is a friend to all the witches here."

He held up his hands as he let out a breath after getting the air knocked out of him. "Relax, I'll tell you some of the witch history of this city and then tell you my story and why Kol Mikaelson in particular grinds my gears."

"Better give us the cliffnotes," Bella threatened, her eyes briefly glowing red as she held him against the wall. "My patience is running a little bit thin today and I'm not in the mood to entertain."

"The witches of New Orleans perform Ancestral Magic. We consecrate our witches, in the City of the Dead, which acts as the Ancestral Plane and basically the power we use. Davina Claire used to be one of the Harvest girls," Vincent started.

Bella began to growl under her breath as he explained about witch history 101 that she was briefed when she agreed to come to New Orleans.

Vincent told her about the Harvest Girls, Marcel's involvement, the MIkaelson's involvement. Then Davina becoming the regent. Esther Mikaelson fooling around with her sons, using Vincent as a vessel for her son Finn and another body for Kol, who had been killed by Jeremy years before.

"I've gotten a lot of this already from Myriam. The vampire doesn't shut up when she's drunk."

"Oh, great. Myriam," Marcel groaned as he leaned against the wall. "That woman is batshit crazy."

"Watch your mouth, Marcel," Bella shot at him. "She may be batshit crazy, but she's my kind of crazy and my friend!"

Vincent continued the story with Kol's resurrection and his relationship with Davina. And the witches. How he became regent and lost it - briefly. How Kol was cursed by the Ancestors and eventually killed Davina because he couldn't control himself, and how that made Vincent feel.

Bella socked him in the stomach before turning away. "You are a real fool if you see him as the guilty party here while you're now the regent and the Ancestor's puppet yet again. Yet, you don't do anything to make his pain any less. Quite the opposite, isn't it? You're turning the witches away from him, as a punishment for what Kol did under the influence from your precious Ancestors. Jesus fuck, you are a bunch of dicks! He has no support system. He has no one to talk to about his girlfriend who died because of external influences and you're only making things worse for him!" She hit him again, this time she hit him in the face, bones could clearly be heard breaking.

Marcel eyed her, his hands slipping into his pockets. "You are taking this awfully personal for someone who just met the guy."

She glared at him. " _We_ should. I'm Isaac's Alpha and he's already lived that same story. So, yeah, we know it well. And here's another little bit of information you may want to know about our kind. We've got empathic abilities. So I know you are here for something other than just being a referee. Come on Isaac, let's go. I got what I wanted."

Vincent held Marcel back as he made an attempt to follow the two werewolves. "It's not worth it," he said, slowly shaking his head.

"I can see why the Mikaelsons wish to help her with her little problem though."

"It's not a _little_ problem, Marcellus, it's a big one. A big Cold One problem and soon our city will be filled with sparkly vampires. Now, I don't know how much help they will be getting, apart from Hayley and her pack, but New Orleans will be a battle zone once again."

"Because of the Mikaelsons."

"No, because of their bleeding hearts for once. For once, their heart might be in the right place," he said as he motioned for Marcel to follow him back inside where Hayley was pouring her blood into a glass for Vincent to take.

"So you're going to help, then?" Hayley asked chipper.

"Hell no," Vincent shook his head. "But I won't stop any witch from helping them if they choose to do so. The Ancestors will have my head if I stick my neck out again."

"Or you could consult with your Ancestors and maybe they can make an exception," Hayley suggested. "We could really use your help if those Cold Ones are that nasty."

"Or maybe the two were right and you just don't want or can't admit to it," a voice spoke up from the bar. "Because it definitely looks like you're blaming someone else for something your beloved ghosts did, hurting him in the process."

"And who the hell are you?" Marcel asked. "You weren't here before and I didn't see you walk in while we were outside."

"Oh, I was at the back," he said lightly, pointing towards the toilets. "Because I knew those two were coming, I've been following them around town all day… and yesterday. They didn't recognize my scent because Bella's not been around it for long and I know how to hide it from other wolves anyway."

"Again, who the hell are you?"

"Oh, I'm one of the main reasons Bella's beta was hurt in the past," the man grinned. "I wish it was a pleasure to meet you but you truly are quite something. Not even I could be this bad," he downed his drink and as he passed Vincent, he pat him on the back. "Good job, asshole." The unknown man then left the bar and disappeared.

Once they were away from the bar, Bella turned to Isaac and put her arms around him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he smiled at her and kissed her. "That was hot."

Bella let out a giggle then. "Imagine how I felt when you beat the crap out of Scott," she returned his kiss before dragging him back off to the hotel. "Tomorrow, we'll go back to our friends, but for now, I want some more of you."

~o.O.o~

Bella and Isaac checked out before lunch and then went back to the Mikaelson home where they found Derek sitting in a chair talking to Myriam and Kol. Immediately Bella felt Isaac tense up. "Hey, we talked about this," she said calmly as she caressed his arm. "He's my brother and he's here to help." Bella then let go of her boyfriend and headed over to Derek to hug him. "Hi! Sorry we weren't here to greet you, Myriam and Rebekah put us up in a hotel room."

"I know, I've been following you around," Derek grinned. "Great to see you, sis."

"You what!" Bella narrowed her eyes on him. "You're such a pervert!"

"I needed to know you two were okay, to see if you two had talked before I showed up here and would get my head smashed in or see you without your sanity," he smiled at her. "Don't worry, whenever you retreated to your hotel room, I went back here."

Isaac was pissed off. Once again, Derek was trying to control, to manipulate. "I didn't smell you," he said from the other side of the courtyard as he leaned against the stairs.

"No, because I'm older than you and I've been a wolf for longer than you. I have my tricks, Isaac. You know this," he explained calmly. "Don't worry, I didn't tell them anything about your trips, although that thing at Rousseau's yesterday was awesome, Bella."

Kol quickly got to his feet, slightly looking nervous. "What did you do?"

"We had a chat with Vincent," Bella said calmly as she walked over to the Original vampire and gently rubbed his arm as she looked up to him. "I'm sorry that the community you love doesn't love you anymore, Kol. And that those Ancestors are nothing but power hungry bitches. When this is all over, would you like to come back to Mystic Falls with us? While you're not a werewolf, you can be part of my pack. We'll take care of you."

Derek let out a groan. "Bella, you can't have non-werewolves in your pack, they don't add any value to you or your pack."

"You don't get to say anything about how I live my life or how I should be as an Alpha, Derek," Bella said, her voice with a sharp edge to it as she was picking up on Isaac's emotions. "It was a choice by Isaac and myself. We want to help Kol. We do that, you know, help other supernaturals? But this one will be staying with us," she smiled up to Kol and ruffled his hair. "Like a cute little puppy."

"I am not a charity case!" Kol growled.

"No, but Isaac and I want to help you," she smiled kindly at him. "And we're aware that it might take a while because you're… well… _old_ , but we can put you to good use. Especially with the plans your sisters and sister-in-law have." She then let out a breath. "But ultimately, it'll be your decision. Just know that Isaac and I want to help you."

Isaac stifled a grin. While Bella had dared him to use the puppy reference to Kol, she had done it instead and he wasn't surprised that the vampire lashed out, if only just a little. He'd likely never hit Bella, which was a good thing.

"Alright, time for lunch! And text that sparkly vampire of yours, Isaac, we need to know where he is and when he and his friends will arrive," Myriam said as she shepherd everyone into the dining room. "But so glad to see, and smell, that you two finally had sex. Well done, you two!"

"Myr!" Bella whined.

"What? We can all smell it, it's not a secret," she grinned as she sloppily kissed her friend on the cheek. "Young love, it's so beautiful!"


	24. Chapter 24

It took a few more days for Peter to arrive with Charlotte, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie and it gave Bella some time to catch up with Derek. Isaac was less stressed around him, but he tried to get along with Derek for the sake of her. He mostly hung with Jeremy and Kol, playing video games.

It was only when Marcel marched the five Cold Ones onto the courtyard that everyone came together as Marcel was shouting. "Klaus! You're gathering an entire army for this pathetic lot?!"

"I told you many times, we're not the bad guys," Peter sighed exasperated. "If we were, you'd be dead."

Isaac made sure he was close to Bella. While he trusted Peter in knowing that Emmett and Rosalie had turned over a new leaf right as he and Bella were leaving town, he wasn't quite sure of it himself. They'd been Cullens, after all. Same with Jasper, but the guy genuinely tried to do better and had been doing better. It still didn't take away that now three of the Cold Ones responsible for Bella's misery were now close. "Yeah, they're with us," Isaac said with a nod. "That's Peter and his mate Charlotte, his brother Jasper and those two are Rosalie and Emmett."

All the questions Marcel had asked at Rousseau's made sense now, he was still the Mikaelson's guard dog. Or perhaps only looking out for New Orleans and bringing the Cold Ones in was for Marcel wanting for Klaus to take the responsibility. "Don't worry, Marcellus," Klaus said to his former protege. "They're only here to help and once everything is done and dusted, they'll be out of the city."

"Freya, dear, could you dull their sparkle, please?" Elijah asked his sister. "At least for the duration of that they'll be spending time in New Orleans."

"Gladly, they're giving me a headache," Freya muttered before casting a spell that she had worked on with Kol. It worked like some sort of blanket, it didn't take away their genetic makeup, the spell simply covered it all up.

"Thank you, dear sister," Klaus smiled at her before turning to the Cold Ones. "I know that you're here to help our young Alpha, and you're free to roam the city as you wish. I understand that it has been a long time since you were able to pretend to be an ordinary human. However, do refrain on snacking on the locals and if you take only one step out of place, you will be destroyed. Have I made myself clear?"

"Don't worry, Klaus, I'll keep them in check," Peter winked at him. "But thank you for allowing us to feel a little bit normal for the duration of our stay in your lovely city. Unfortunately, our arrival comes with some bad news. The reason we're late is because we found the Cullens and they know you're in New Orleans, Bella. They're close, and they're not alone. They have their cousins from Alaska with them and some of the Volturi Guard."

"Well, that's exciting news, isn't it?" Klaus beamed at Myriam. "I knew they'd do anything to please their Golden Child!"

"He's the first to die," Rosalie replied venomously. "And then Carlisle, and Alice."

"Eh, unless they bring Jane and Alec. And Felix," Jasper winced. "Then it's likely they have to go first."

"Yeah well, bring it!" Emmett cheered. "They deserve everything that's coming to them!"

"Forgive me if I'm being rude, but, weren't you part of the same coven of vampires?" Elijah questioned Emmett. "You, your wife and Peter's brother? Shouldn't you get the same treatment as the rest of them?"

"Hey now," Peter said as he stepped in front of Rosalie and Emmett. "Both Rose and Emmett were under the same influence as Bella was. As Jasper was. Upon realizing that, they left immediately without any possessions and have been in hiding for as long as Bella's been with Isaac."

"No offense, but how do the Cullens know that Bella's in New Orleans?" Kol asked curiously. "I mean, nobody knew except for you lot. You knew all the plans. There has been no sighting of the Volturi tracker Demetri so someone within your little circle must have run their mouth."

"I wouldn't know!"

Bella looked at Kol, a look of determination on his face. Klaus, Elijah, Rebekah and Myriam had the same look and Isaac looked just puzzled. "Would you, though? Emmett and Rosalie know how your gift works. They know how Jasper's gift works. You're not infallible and you don't know everything."

"Relax," Jasper could feel the tension rolling off of the vampire family who so graciously offered their assistance in getting rid the Cullens and protecting Bella. He needed to stop this from escalating or else it would be all of their heads, but it was quite difficult to influence these ancient vampires. "Your question is valid, as is your paranoia, but you have nothing to fear from us. We're here to protect Bella and to make sure we all get our revenge on the Cullens for what they have put us through."

"Then how would they know I'm here?" Bella demanded before turning to her brother. He was the only _unknown_ among them and surely, the Cullens wouldn't know about her brother, would they?

"What?"

"Did you tell Peter?"

"Bella, don't be ridiculous. Every phone call, every message was private and deleted when needed. I told Peter I was going out of town for a while to help out a friend in need, that's all," Derek defended himself.

"But Stiles is a computer geek and works for the FBI," Isaac piped up. "His father is the local sheriff. Bella's dad is a sheriff. Peter could have gone to Scott and whine about not being able to find you and you do use a smartphone, don't you? It's simple, really."

"For god's sake, Isaac, stop making me the bad guy!" Derek said angrily as he took a few steps towards him, making Isaac take a hesitant step back. "I apologized to you, several times, for my mistakes as an Alpha, for my mistakes towards you, get the fuck over yourself!"

"Or, hunters dumped your phone and had a run in with the Cold Ones, causing them to involuntarily give them the information they didn't know they were looking for," Peter said.

"Screw you, you just want the heat off of you," Derek growled.

Bella pulled her brother away from Isaac and moved between them. "Stop it and give me your phone."

"Why? It's off."

"Give me your phone, Derek," Bella said as she took a step closer to her brother. "If it's truly off, you have nothing to worry about. If it's on, you have nothing to worry about either, but then you'll be the one who has lead them straight to me and we'll have to give Hayley a call and prepare."

Derek handed it over, concern on his face but not for him. "If I did lead them here, I didn't mean to, Bella. You have to believe me. I don't want to lose another sister."

"He's truthful," Jasper nodded. "He's not lying."

"No," Bella sighed as she showed everyone the phone. The location settings were on, bluetooth was on and there was a voice recorder running. "But they did get to his phone," she said as she crushed it with her hand. "I guess that means that playtime is over," she added as the pieces of the phone fell to the ground.

Isaac let out a low, threatening growl. Sure, Derek technically couldn't have known, but anyone who was being hunted for who they were knew that they'd have to ditch phones every so often. He wanted to beat the crap out of Derek for being an absolute dickhead. Instead, he took the steps towards Bella and gently took her hand as he let out a breath and felt her calmness wash over him.

"Right, call Hayley, invite her over," Klaus said as he pointed towards the dining room. "We'll all have a gathering inside. Marcellus, you're staying."

"This is not my fight, Klaus. I didn't choose to help out," Marcel countered before being pushed against the wall by Rebekah. "Rebekah, this is not my fight."

"You're going to make it your fight, Marcel," she said as she narrowed her eyes on him. "I don't care about your own motivations, but this girl needs our help and I know that there's nothing more that you'd like is to help others. Besides, with your involvement, we might be able to keep New Orleans in one piece for once." She then smiled sweetly at him. "Do it for me? Please?"

Marcel sighed. "Fine. How can I resist a pretty face like yours?"

"Thank you," she smiled at him before releasing him and following everyone inside the dining room.

They talked about possible strategies all day long, had dinner and then everyone, including a handful of Crescent wolves, went to the Bayou to get some practice in for fighting Cold Ones. And Bella had a lot of fun with it. While Isaac had taught her a lot of hand to hand combat and what not, seeing the different styles everyone fought with was exciting and Bella picked up a few new tricks.

Practice was called off for the night when Bella accidentally severed Jasper's pinkie, misjudging her own strength for a moment. While Jasper wasn't in any pain and his pinkie could easily re-attach, she felt a little bit guilty. "It's alright, Bella," he smiled at her. "Now I know I'm confident that you'll be able to hold your own against Edward, because I reckon you'd want to take care of him yourself?"

"Hell yeah," Bella nodded as she let out a breath.

"Edward's fast, but he's stupid when it comes to fighting. You're not. You're focused and you'll absolutely manage to take him apart," he said as he held his hand in his good hand so that his pink could re-attach. "I think that for now, a good night's sleep is what ya'll need."

"Did you and Peter bring your special juice?" Bella asked brightly. "Or didn't you bring anything?"

He let out a small chuckle. "After we've dealt with the Cullens and the Volturi, then you can have what we brought and share it with your traditional friends. I'm afraid that if I hand it over now, you guys will all be drunk and the Cullens will surprise us and things will go sideways."

"Party pooper," Bella pouted.

~o.O.o~

Bella and Isaac's first night at the Compound and they couldn't sleep, instead they watched Netflix on their phone while they were laying on the bed, Bella comfortably laying against Isaac with his arms around her.

They had slept for maybe a couple of hours and joined everyone for breakfast. It was strange to have breakfast with so many people, and a handful of them drinking blood, but on the other hand it felt nice. Although Bella would never want to give up her and Isaac's breakfast routine at home. Much too comfortable.

It was around lunch time when they were surprised by two people walking into the courtyard. "I'm telling you, Scott, the last known location was right here!"

"I hate it when I'm right," Isaac mumbled as he rushed to his feet and knocked Scott straight on his ass before punching Stiles in the face.

"Woah," Jeremy blinked when he saw his friend move like that. "Isaac, take it easy, dude."

Isaac grabbed Scott by the collar and slammed him against the nearest wall. "What the hell are you doing here? Do you have any idea how much danger you put Bella in with your jealousy and distrust of those closest to you? Do you?"

"Friends of yours?" Klaus asked Bella as he kept his eyes on her beta.

Her eyes narrowed as they flashed bright red. "No. And they weren't invited."

"Oh, goodie, so we can kill them then?" Kol asked excitedly.

"I don't object," she muttered, her lip curling in disgust at seeing Isaac's former Alpha.

"Hey, no killing," Derek piped up. "They may be morons, but no killing."

"Speak for yourself, Derek, you're lucky that you're Bella's brother and still breathing after being a security hazard," Myriam shot at him.

Isaac had heard Derek's words and took his eyes off of Scott to look at his former Alpha. "Excuse me? Did you really just say no killing? I think you been around this asshole too long."

Derek sighed then and nodded. "Perhaps I have been hanging around him for too long," he replied. "But if you kill him, his pack won't have an Alpha. Beacon Hills won't have an Alpha. It could get really messy."

Scott pushed Isaac away from him, flinging him across the courtyard. "We came here to help, that's all."

Bella growled and took off from Klaus' side to go after the other Alpha. "You need to hack my brother's phone to track where he's going because you wanted to _help_?"

"Yeah man," Jeremy agreed. "Sounds to me like you don't trust him."

Isaac got back on his feet and growled as he looked at Stiles. "You'd better stay down, Stiles, because while Beacon Hills might not be good without an Alpha, in your case it's an entirely different matter."

"Funny you should say that, Jeremy, because Scott here is very big on trust," Derek replied with a smirk on his face. "I suppose he has the same issues with me, still, that Isaac has and has never fully trusted me despite all my actions to try and make things right."

"But by not trusting you, he put Bella in danger and by showing up here, he's severely ticking off your sister and Isaac," Jeremy pushed. He had heard stories about Scott from Isaac on their little trips out and he simply didn't like the guy. "I mean, that asshole had Isaac's girlfriend dying in his arms while Isaac was close by."

"Are you sure about this, Derek?" Freya asked him as she passed him with a clean cloth. "It's not too late."

"Yeah, I'm sure," he replied as he watched Freya walk over to Isaac who had Scott's blood on his hands. Last night, when Bella and Isaac had gone to bed, he had talked about his suspicions with the Mikaelsons and about how what kind of an Alpha Scott was. Admitting to the fact that he himself hadn't been a good Alpha but had learned from his mistakes. And had gained a lot of perspective after evolving into an evolved werewolf. He was more at peace now. He could be a better Alpha for those in Beacon Hills than Scott currently was.

But, to take Scott's status, he truly needed some magical help because he wasn't Scott's beta. Scott was a True Alpha and Derek had already given up his spark once to save his sister. And Freya was willing to help, and Klaus was willing to help too, ready for a science experiment, a new pet. And, much to Klaus' surprise, his siblings were more than happy with a new pet, especially because they had all taken a liking to both Bella and Isaac in the short time that they had known each other.

As Freya went back to her siblings to start casting the spell, Klaus made his way over to Bella, who was now holding Scott against the wall with one hand, only because Scott allowed her to. "Do you trust me, love?" He asked quietly as he stood beside her.

Her glare shifted from Scott to Klaus. "I told you to never call me that."

"My apologies," he kindly smiled at her. "Old habits die hard, but do you trust me?"

She hesitated for a moment before giving him a single nod. "You haven't done anything to garner mistrust - yet. Unlike others..."

"Thank you," he said as he bit his hand as he pulled Scott towards him, kicked him in the shins but held him up by his hair as he force-fed the wolf his blood.

"What the fuck?!" Stiles shouted, trying to reach for his friend. "What are you doing?! What are you people?!"

Isaac crouched down next to Stiles and put a hand on his shoulder. "Ever heard of vampires, Stiles?" he asked as he cocked his head, his actions mirroring his actions from many years ago after he'd just been turned and had been fucking around in science class, threatening to kill Lydia. "No? Nothing? Because they are a huge part of the supernatural community and these guys? They're alright. The ones that we're here for because your actions lead them to Bella, not so much. But whatever Klaus has planned, I'm _pretty_ sure that Scott's deserved it."

Klaus pulled Scott up by his hair and grabbed his arms to spin him around, pinning him against him as Derek approached them. "Whatever you're planning…" Scott warned him as his eyes flashed red. "Don't."

"Ah, but Scott, I'm not your beta," Derek said playfully. "You see, back home we've held a vote amongst us werewolves, and oh boy, your pack really doesn't like how you're handling the hunters. You have an awful sense of morality, you constantly break your own rules, and your organisation skills are really really poor. You're using your pack only for the added strength they give you, and you don't pay attention to them at all."

"At least I'm better than you!"

"Isaac? Care to say something?"

"He knows," Isaac said as he kept his hand on Stiles to keep him down. He was struggling against Isaac's hold and had gotten a little bit stronger due to his FBI training, but he was still a human. Whatever was going on had him curious though. What had they planned for Scott? "He knows that I could have used his support as my friend and Alpha when Allison died. Never responded to any text message or email. I know now that he likely accepted me to be in his pack to stay close to Allison and for my added strength to his own. At least _you_ tried to reach out to me, Derek, but I ignored you because I was still very angry with you, too. But I see that you've learned from your mistakes and I'm dating your sister, so… I suppose we're good. You truly cared, even when you kicked me out for my own safety when the Alpha pack was coming."

"See, Scott? Your actions hurt deeper than mine, how can you say you're better than me? I mean, I'm not saying that I'm better than you, but I am saying that I can do a better job at keeping Beacon Hills and your pack of idiots safe by doing things differently. Because Isaac was right about that too, I _have_ been hanging around with you for too long."

"You can't take my Alpha status, Derek. You're not my beta and I'm a true Alpha."

"But I'm a born werewolf, who gave up his spark to save someone. I'm an evolved werewolf now, all I need is a little bit of extra help that the Mikaelsons have granted me. Honestly, hadn't you come after me, nothing would have happened, but by coming here, you're truly showing how stupid and not trusting you are." Derek then looked at Bella and smiled at her. "I'm not just doing this for Beacon Hills. I'm doing this for you and for Isaac. It's gonna get messy."

Bella nodded as she took a few steps back. Derek turned into a wolf then and dug his claws straight into Scott's chest with a tremendous amount of force causing Scott to cry out in pain, his eyes flashing red as it was clear that bones were breaking. Blood was dripping out of him and Bella couldn't feel sorry for the boy.

"Scott! Scott! No! Stop it!" Stiles cried out as he wrestled against Isaac's hold. "Let me go, you overgrown puppy!" He managed to turn himself around so he could try to push Isaac away but all Isaac did was holding him tighter. "Scott! Scott! Don't kill him!"

As soon as Scott's eyes stopped flashing red and Derek could feel the Alpha power inside of him, he retracted his hands and Klaus bit Scott's neck as he drained him dry. Once his heart stopped, he dropped him on the ground. "Let's see how long it takes for him to come to."

"Scott!"

Isaac let go of Stiles as the other scrambled to his feet to go over to his best friend. "Uhh, what just happened?"

"Plan B, for when Scott and Stiles would arrive," Derek smiled widely as he was wiping his hands on a piece of cloth. "Because those two can't leave well enough alone. Freya and Klaus were so kind as to lend me their assistance with this," he said as he flashed his eyes, they were bright red again.

The young beta tensed for a brief second, blinking in surprise. "Well, that's just wrong...not that I don't appreciate the effort, but personally, just weird now."

"Don't worry, Isaac," Freya smiled at him. "He knows that the moment he steps out of line that I can take his newly found Alpha status away from him again, too," she smirked as she thumbed over to her brother Kol. "He thought it'd be nice to have a back door in the spell, seeing as Derek himself admitted not having been a good Alpha in the past."

"Somehow, that's even more disturbing," he said as he joined Bella's side. "But thank you."


	25. Chapter 25

Later that day, after dinner, Scott rose from the dead. No longer a werewolf, but a vampire/werewolf hybrid. Freya had explained that the spell she'd cast helped Derek to become an Alpha, but because of her siblings wanting Scott as a pet, they'd have to get creative and needed magic to bind his werewolf side to Klaus' vampirism. There was a long list of ingredients and Bella was mostly surprised to hear that they kept a small vial of Hope's blood at hand for powerful spells now that Hope was older.

All the Mikaelsons had him surrounded as Kol force fed Scott some human blood, taken from his best friend Stiles, who had been under compulsion for hours now, seeing as he was annoying and had been on the phone to his dad and talking about killing everyone for killing his best friend, it was highly unpleasant, but quite entertaining.

"Oh, gross," Scott said as he wiped his mouth. "What the hell did you do to me?"

"We made you better," Klaus smiled at him.

"Oh, okay," Scott said with a nod. "Didn't know I was defective. Thank you."

"Well that's brilliant, I won't even have to compel you to do my bidding, will I?"

"No, of course not," Scott replied as a matter of factly. "I'd do anything for you."

Rebekah stood to the side, arms crossed in front of her with a frown. "Another little pet for you, brother. I thought you would have learned your lesson after the last lot was sacrificed."

"We all agreed that this pet would be a good idea, don't worry, love, I'll tell him he has to play with everyone."

"I was not here for this conversation and I have to say that I don't particularly like it," she protested. "Another hybrid. Aside from Hayley, we also have Marcel - who's barely an acquaintance at this point to keep him from trying to kill us, and you are making new pets when we are supposed to be preparing for an invasion to protect the girl!"

"Ah, but this would not have happened if he hadn't shown up, now, would it?" Klaus smiled, amused by his sister, knowing that she was right. But still. Scott was to be enjoyed by everyone. "Listen to me, Scott, you're going to do whatever my siblings and I wish for you to do, is that understood?"

"Of course," he smiled widely as he looked around. "Who are you guys?"

Stiles sat off to the side, compelled in silence as he watched his friend, who he thought was killed, following everything said as if they were the words of a god. He could do nothing to beat some sense into him and glared at Derek and the guy's sister, unable to do anything.

"Wait, what's going on here?" Derek said confused. "I thought he'd still have some free will left, and that you would compel him if need be."

"Oh, they didn't tell you?" Rebekah looked at Derek. "Whenever my brother creates a hybrid, they're immediately sired to him, worshipping the ground he walks on and they don't even realize that they're doing it. Oh, we can still compel him, if we'd like to, but Scott's now insanely loyal towards my brother."

"No I'm not," Scott huffed before he spotted Stiles and went over to him. "Hey!"

Stiles merely smiled at him.

"What? No hug?"

Stiles narrowed his eyes on his friend. This wasn't Scott. At all.

Scott walked back to Klaus as he ran his hand through his hair. "Uh, what did you do with Stiles?"

"Oh, we compelled him to stay and to shut up, nothing to worry about, your friend is fine."

"Oh, okay," Scott nodded. "Are you sure?"

"Of course. Now, be a good little pup and make sure he stays where he is. And do be quiet, the adults have some things to discus," Klaus said as he pushed Scott towards Stiles. "This is going to be fun," he grinned at Myriam. "And whenever we get bored with him, we just put him in the dungeons."

"Unbelievable," Rebekah shook her head. There was nothing more that she wanted than to compel the boy to run, but if she'd do that, she'd be in trouble with her family and she really didn't want that. She was just going to have to make sure that he was well taken care of.

Did Bella feel guilty about Scott's predicament? Absolutely not. She wanted him dead for what he had done, but she supposed this was a better way. Scott would now be under the full control of the Mikaelsons. Of Klaus. As a toy. She doubted that Scott would be used for anything else. It was like… prison. But not. Or something. Myriam had assured her that when they'd send Stiles back to Beacon Hills, he'd be fully compelled to forget and instructed what to say when people would ask about Scott.

The only thing that needed to be easier explained was Derek's new Alpha status because Chris Argent and Deaton weren't dumb. With Scott gone, and Derek now an Alpha again, they'd know that something was up. Perhaps Myriam was going to travel back with Derek and Stiles to Beacon Hills to compel everyone, it would be a whole lot easier. Maybe even have everyone forget about Scott.

Wouldn't that be something?

Or would they understand the situation and believe that Derek got his spark back through magic? It wasn't anything Bella was going to be worried about. Scott got what he deserved, end of. The fall out was for those who went back to Beacon Hills, and it surely wasn't going to be her or Isaac.

The following day, Stiles and Scott were put in the dungeons for their own safety as Peter knew that the Cold Ones were coming that day. It was a rare overcast day for New Orleans, thick clouds were in front of the sun and there was no doubt that they had a witch on their side who could control the weather.

They all quickly made their way to the Bayou; not wanting the French Quarter to get caught up in the mayhem because the Cullens would find them there, anyway. No matter where they'd go. "Are you ready for this?" Derek asked his sister.

Bella let out a breath and nodded. "Yeah, this needs to end."

"Now, remember, we go for the Volturi Guard first, then for the Cullens. And Edward is Bella's," Peter reminded everyone of the game plan. "And you can help hold him down when needed, of course," he smiled at Isaac.

Hayley's werewolves sprinted forward then, when the leaves rustled and it was followed by some yelling and the sound of steel breaking. Other Cold Ones came from the surrounding area, but no Cullens so far. Marcel and his vampires took one side and the Mikaelsons the other. In the midst of the battle that was going on, there was a clear space where the Cullens stopped, right in front of Bella, Isaac, Derek, Jeremy, Peter, Charlotte, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie.

"Seriously," Bella said calmly at the display. In front of her were Edward, Carlisle, Alice, Esme, their cousins and someone else she didn't recognize.

"Garrett, why make the wrong decision, man? I liked you!" Peter said disappointed. "The other day Char here thought it'd be nice to invite you over for a threesome!"

Garrett smirked as he walked over to Peter and hugged him before kissing Char. "I'd be honored. So how good of an idea was it to put me with them lot, huh?"

"Kinda reckless, but good thing you're a great liar," Charlotte grinned up at him before putting her arms around him and looked at the dumbfounded looks of the Cullens and the Denali. "Yeah, as if. You know that Garrett never liked you, why would he, all of a sudden, join you on your own mission to hell for some girl?"

"Bella, this has gone on for long enough," Carlisle said kindly. "Come home."

Bella took Isaac's hand out of instinct and looked at her boyfriend. "Are they high on their own pheromones or something? Delusional? Dropped on the head too much? Mentally ill?"

"Obsessed," Isaac nodded with a smile as he looked at her. Bella felt as if she could melt. There was so much love and adoration in his eyes for her that it was beautiful. He, was beautiful. "But who wouldn't be obsessed with you? You're amazing."

"She's mine!" Edward's vampire visage bled out. "She's _my_ fiancé and you took her from me!"

"It's always the same line, isn't it?" Peter asked Bella. "She's mine! Give her back! You took her from me! You're sick! This isn't right!" he added in a whiny voice.

Bella smiled widely then as she turned back to face Edward, her own werewolf face now coming out, her eyes glowing red, her hands turning into claws. "I am not yours, Edward Cullen. I have never been and I never will be."

When Edward lunged for Isaac, she intercepted him and slammed his cold, hard body on the ground, denting the soil in the process. The others ran past her to take care of the rest, but her focus was solely on Edward. The amount of rage towards him and his family contained inside of her was unhealthy and she needed to let it out. Isaac was close by, helping Jasper destroy Alice, but for now, she had time alone with Edward.

Bella quickly managed to get rid of one leg that Edward wasn't going to need anymore and threw it away in a general direction before she heard Kol laugh. "Thank you for my bat, Bella darling!" The sound of steel hitting steel could be heard soon after that.

Edward rolled away from her then and managed to get her in a choke hold, she quickly had difficulty breathing and she couldn't move. "You're coming back with me, Bella, whether you like it or not."

Bella managed to let out a loud roar then, causing both Isaac and Derek to stop what they were doing and quickly made their way over to Bella to free her from Edward's arms. Derek ripped off one arm while Isaac tugged on the other so that Bella could roll away from Edward. He then planted his foot firmly on Edward's torso and pulled on his arm, leaving Edward limbless and only with one leg.

Once she had caught her breath, she leapt on top of Edward and started to tug on his head. "You mother fucker! I am not ever coming back with you! I should have never ignored my own feelings about you so you could manipulate me, you fucking asshole!" One big tug and with a _pop_ , his head separated from his torso. She placed the head next to her as she slid down his body and opened his chest cavity before grabbing his head again and pushed it right in the hole that she had created.

She was so tempted to grab his dick and shove it up his ass, but her rage was satisfied now. All that she needed to do now was to set the fucker on fire and be done with it. She looked up to Isaac who held out his hand to pull her up. "What do you think of the remodelling of the statue?" She asked as she put her arms around her boyfriend.

"I think it's… better than the original, for sure," Isaac let out a chuckle and handed Bella a lighter. "I know that we're supposed to collect them all and make one big bonfire out of them but I think you deserve to have your own little one."

Derek pulled a small bag of marshmallows out of his pocket. "I brought these."

"Brilliant!" Bella smiled widely.

He handed her the small bag and kissed the top of her head. "Proud of you sis," he said proudly. "Now, excuse me, there are more Cold Ones to kill."

"Oh, yes, let's do that first!" Bella said excitedly as she handed the marshmallows to Isaac and ran to the next available Cold One to tear apart.

The gigantic bonfire was spectacular, and everyone looked pleased with their work. Jasper had left briefly to get the bottles of alcohol he had promised Bella, and she was happily sharing her bottle with Isaac. Even Derek was shocked by the fact that he felt the buzz of the alcohol. "I want to thank you all for helping me. You didn't have to, but thanks to you, the world is a whole lot safer to live in. You truly freed me. Even with my new life, with Isaac, the idea of the Cullens finding me and wanting to take me back always lingered in the back of my mind and I don't have that anymore, so really, thank you so much."

"You are very welcome, little Swan," Klaus saud, quite enjoying the fact that he felt buzzed from Peter and Jasper's concoction already. "But we are not done yet."

"We're not?"

The hybrid shook his head. "If I'm not mistaken, the Volturi still believe you're a human and they'll come after you again. And again. Because no human is allowed to know about who they truly are. Perhaps a diplomatic trip to Volterra is in order to convince them otherwise?"

"He's right," Jasper replied. "They'd need to have proof that your status has changed, besides you were never human to begin with. They're not impossible or unfair, just a big bunch of dicks."

That was the last thing she wanted to hear; and she knew she couldn't ask of anyone else to go, either, because the Volturi would want to see for themselves. "If you'd like to, Myriam and I could accompany you and your boyfriend. We have a family home in Rome where we could stay," Klaus said kindly. "The Volturi aren't unreasonable, but they're not very fond of wolves, either."

"God, I hope not," Bella muttered as she leaned into Isaac and looked up at him. "Italy?"

"You're going to love the food," he grinned and planted a kiss on her head. "And the history, I mean, Rome _is_ beautiful."

"Very well… once more to Volterra it is."

~o.O.o~

A couple of days later they landed in Rome and Bella was wearing one of the dresses she had bought in New Orleans. While she had felt free, truly free after destroying the Cullens and their family, the thought of having to face the Volturi again filled her with dread. The least she could do was to dress pretty. For herself and Isaac.

Derek had taken Stiles back to Beacon Hills, fully compelled and Elijah had come along to have a chat with Argent and Deaton about Scott and Derek's _transformation_. If needed, Elijah would compel anyone necessary when it came to Scott.

She wanted to get it over with and head to Volterra after they'd landed, but Klaus and Myriam insisted in staying in Rome for the night. After all, there was enough time in the world and life was all about enjoyment, according to Myriam. Bella couldn't sleep, so she dragged Isaac into Rome with her to explore in the dark and with the pretty lights.

"You're right, Rome is pretty," Bella said as they had climbed on top of the Colosseum, granting them a spectacular view of the city by night. "Did you live around here for long?"

"Long enough," he replied with a smile. "It was more fun to travel through Italy, through the small villages and talk to the nonna's, and learn from them. The nature and the environment is simply stunning and once you really involve yourself in the culture, live amongst them Italians, it's the best thing ever."

"Nerd," Bella barked out a laugh.

"It's the same for every country though, and you, as a history lover, should be intrigued. You learn a lot from the history of a country or a place by talking to the locals and to befriend them," he smiled then as he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and kissed her tenderly. "Maybe, once our B&B is fully running with all the staff we could possibly need and make us obsolete, we could do some travelling."

"Warm countries only."

"Indonesia… Suriname… Curaçao, Aruba…"

"Sounds great. I've always wanted to backpack through Europe, too, so maybe we can do that too?" she sighed happily. "I just hope that after we've gone to the Volturi that that's it for my personal hell and that all I need to worry about is us, our friends and the people we're going to help."

Isaac let out a breath and nodded. "You know… what Derek and the Mikaelsons did to Scott… it's weird."

"It's better than him dying, isn't it?"

He shrugged then. "I honestly don't know if it's better or not. Sure, now I'm certain he's not going to do anything anymore and all… and he got what he deserved, but it's kinda cruel."

"He hurt you, deeply."

"As did Derek, and yet, he's back to being an Alpha now."

"But you said it yourself, Derek has changed. Scott hasn't, and he likely never will because he doesn't see the bigger picture like Derek does," she gently rubbed his arm. "You can always tell Klaus that Scott could return to Beacon Hills, you know, I'm sure he'd do that."

"No, Scott needs to stop doing what he does."

"Then this is the best solution," she smiled at him and kissed him. "Don't feel guilty about it, the pup stuck his nose where it didn't belong. It has consequences. He doesn't treat people the way they should be treated, either. This is a good solution," she assured him. "Trust me. If it were up to me, I would have killed him."

They were quiet for some time before Isaac spoke again. "Freedom from your demons does feel good, doesn't it?"

Bella laughed. "Yeah. Yeah it does!"


	26. Chapter 26

The Volturi agreed to have an audience with Klaus Mikaelson, who had brought young Bella Swan with him. Aro was delighted, if Klaus Mikaelson had Edward's lover, then the Cullens surely were dead! Caius wasn't entirely sure if he had to be happy with Klaus Mikaelson's return to Volterra, as all encounters with the Mikaelsons usually lead to leaving them empty handed.

Everything was as Bella remembered it to be, only now with less of the guard, which filled her with immense joy and she could hardly contain herself. She was nervous, though. What if despite her telling Aro that she wasn't human to begin with that he'd ordered her to die, anyway? She couldn't leave Isaac and she surely didn't want to abandon their mission.

Klaus had told her she had nothing to worry about, that this was a mere courtesy call to tell them to accept what she was and to back off, or there would be consequences. Myriam then said that nobody liked having a fight with the Mikaelsons because they always won.

"Mr. Mikaelson, such a surprise! And you brought others?" Aro greeted Klaus as he got up from his throne to approach him and Bella. "And Miss Swan, so deliciously young as always."

"Aro," Klaus greeted him with a nod. "My condolences, I had to take care of your guard when they came to New Orleans to aid the Cullens, I'm afraid that they crossed into _my city_ and you won't ever see them again."

Aro sneered then. "We had a deal!"

"The deal was that I'd stay out of your business, and you'd stay out of mine. Miss Swan is under my protection, not that she needs it," he said as he narrowed his eyes on Aro. "The Cullens are dead. Those who are still alive are victims themselves of the elder and younger Cullen's manipulation and also under my protection. Now, I understand you had an agreement with Bella about her needing to turn or die because of her knowledge of the Cold Ones?"

"That still stands, despite the losses. It's law that no human can know about our kind. No matter if she's under your protection. Our law."

"Of course," Klaus smiled courteously.

"It's foolish of you to have brought another human to this meeting," Aro said as he looked at Isaac. "Such a fine specimen as well. I'd hate having to kill you."

"Go on, pups, show them why the both of you are hands off," Myriam encouraged them, Aro was pissing her off, and she could tell that Bella was about to snap.

Aro took a few steps back when Bella and Isaac put their game faces on, Bella's eyes flashing red, Isaac's yellow. "Do know that it takes a tremendous amount of restraint for me not to rip your head off your shoulders," Bella threatened Aro. "You knew about the Cullens and what they did and you should have stopped them years ago."

Aro blinked before looking over his shoulder to see if he wasn't the only one seeing this. From the look of disgust on Caius' face, this was real. Turning back around, he saw that Bella and her friend had turned their faces back to normal. "My apologies, Ms. Swan, we didn't know."

"Neither did I," Bella said calmly as she took Isaac's hand. "As it turned out, my werewolf side was suppressed for years by poison, perhaps Wolf Lichen blocks your gifts as well. Does this mean I won't be killed now?"

"Now why would we want to do that? You're a fascinating creature, even when we believed you were human! It would have been a shame to kill you, that's why we hoped that Edward would turn you! But… we'd rather not taint the gene pool, so to speak. We also don't believe it's possible to turn a creature such as yourself."

"Will you call off anyone else who is after me?"

"Of course! You're free to live a happy and fruitful life. Enjoy your freedom, Miss Swan."

"I know I'm not in the position to make demands, but I do have a request. I do believe that you owe me one."

"And what's your request?"

"I request the freedom of Emmett and Rosalie Cullen and Jasper, Peter and Charlotte Whitlock. Rosalie and Emmett, as Jasper, had been victims of Carlisle as well. And Peter and Charlotte have done enough to stay out of your way over the years and not to cause any ripples in their existence. They deserve the same freedom as you've now granted me."

Aro scowled then. "But I want Jasper and Peter to work for the Volturi."

"They have their own lives and they're doing something good with their longevity," Bella smiled kindly. "Your existence is not in any danger and they're living under the radar. Besides, Peter is a friend of mine, but a good friend of Isaac's. He'd really hate it if something happened to his friend."

"Or perhaps you'd like it if I put those five under my protection, too?" Klaus mused, loving the fact how strong Bella was. Underneath all those nerves she truly was an Alpha. And likely a bit more diplomatic than he was.

"Fine," Aro replied with a nod. "Anything else?"

Bella thought for a moment before curiosity got the better of her. "How are you dealing with the supernatural hunters? Are there any casualties on your side?"

"Of course not, although we've snacked on plenty of them," Aro seemed entertained. "It's very difficult for a human, a trained hunter or not, to kill us. It doesn't stop them from trying though. From what I've gathered is that our kind is merely entertained by them."

"Please don't allow them to be turned for shits and giggles? If I come across a hunter that's of your kind, I won't hesitate to dismember them and burn their remains."

"Pity. Since you've destroyed most of my guard, I could use new soldiers."

"No," Bella said sternly. "And don't make me find out that you did, either."

Marcus stifled a chuckle and Caius was still not amused. "Very well, Miss Swan, I owe you that much," Aro nodded. "Now, any more demands? Because if so, I might have to start demanding things of my own."

She smiled then. "No, that's it. Thank you so much, Aro."

~o.O.o~

"Oh, home, sweet home!" Bella exclaimed as she dropped herself onto the couch in their apartment in their Bed and Breakfast in Mystic Falls. It had been a few days since they'd been in Italy and a week since she got her revenge on Edward and she was glad to be home.

Myriam would arrive back in a few days and until then, it was just her and Isaac at the Bed and Breakfast, ready for reopening and resuming their daily lives. While they had some good food in New Orleans, and in Italy, Bella had to admit that she'd missed Isaac's cooking.

She'd missed their little breakfast routine.

"Shit!" Bella sat up and looked at Isaac who had just come inside as he carried their bags. "Shit!"

He looked at her in confusion. "What?"

She then pointed at their two bedrooms. "What bedroom are we going to sleep in together?" She'd realized that since the last time they were inside this apartment, they had changed their relationship status and since then hadn't slept apart either. Two bedrooms seemed excessive now. "And what are we going to do with the spare one? Because, should Kol choose to come, he's going to stay somewhere else in the building. Not with us."

"Or we could take down that wall and make it one big bedroom," he said as he put the bags aside and joined her on the couch. "Or use it as storage, you never know what the future might bring," he shrugged. "And I don't mind moving my stuff into your bedroom."

"Our bedroom."

He laughed then. "Yes, our bedroom. Everything is ours now."

She crawled into his lap and straddled his waist as she put her arms around his neck. "Shall we break in our new bed?" She teased him before she kissed him, hard.

Bella didn't have to say that twice! It had been quite challenging to stay away from her at night and in the morning as they had shared the space with sensitive vampire ears and now they were once again free to do whatever they wanted. Answering her kiss, he got to his feet and held her as he walked them towards her bedroom. Their bedroom.

~o.O.o~

"Love birds, we have arrived!" Myriam announced loudly as she and Kol walked into the reception area of the Bed and Breakfast where Bella was just about to sign in a regular couple wanting to stay at their on the books facility. "Oh, guests!"

"Careful now, Myriam, don't want to scare them off!" Bella warned her playfully before turning her attention back to her guests. Isaac wasn't particularly happy about them as he had to clean out an entire section of the kitchen to cater to these guests' special dietary needs and had been scrubbing the place clean for the last day, making sure that absolutely nothing would cross contaminate.

Once everything was in order and the credit card checked out, Bella took her guests' bags and took them to the first floor and showed them to their room. When she was done, she got tackled by Myriam. "Okay, I missed you too," Bella laughed as she hugged her friend and looked at Kol. "Hey you! Change of heart?"

"She wouldn't allow me not to go," Kol sighed with a shrug. "But I do have to admit, I love what you've done to what once was the Mystic Grill."

"We tore it all down, rebuilt. I'll give you the grand tour once you guys settle. You can have one of the suites on the top floor, it's where Myriam sleeps and Isaac and I's apartment is there too," Bella explained. "And do try to be quiet, I just rented out the last room available for paying customers."

"Do we have some non-paying customers downstairs?" Myriam asked knowingly.

Bella nodded. "Yeah, they're scheduled to be picked up by Peter in a few hours. Now, go settle in, I'll drag Isaac from the kitchen so we can bring you up to speed." She watched as Myriam and Kol went upstairs before heading to the kitchen once the receptionist they'd hired came back from break.

"Don't come in!"

"Don't be ridiculous," Bella huffed as she looked at the spotless kitchen. Just as she had thought, Isaac had decided to decontaminate the entire kitchen for their food allergic guests. That is, if they were even allergic to the foods they had described as it was the latest fad still in dieting. "It's time for a break. You've cleaned enough and I'm pretty sure that if health inspection comes over they'll give you like a gold star."

"Are you mocking me?"

"I might be," she smirked as she leaned against the door. "Myriam and Kol have arrived."

Isaac smiled at her then. "Can I use him as my little helper in the kitchen?"

Bella thought for a moment and shrugged. "We'll see. You really need to find people to help you out, Isaac, we're full and you can't do everything by yourself!"

"I can try?" Oh, he knew. But all the people he tried out weren't what he was looking for. Either they were under qualified or they believed that they didn't have to do anything seeing as it was _merely_ a Bed and Breakfast and that during the day nothing happened. And maybe it was because he was a perfectionist, but he needed the right people for the job and not doing a job half assed. Maybe Kol and or Myriam could find him some decent cooks and compel them to his needs or something.

"Do you have a fresh pot of coffee?"

"Yep." Isaac put his cleaning utensils away and grabbed a tray to fill it with cups, the coffee, sugar and milk and added some cookies that he had baked that morning for their guests.

Bella waited until he had his hands full and started to walk towards the restaurant to meet up with Myriam and Kol. "Is something wrong, Isaac?" she asked quietly. "Because you're being…"

"Neurotic?" He let out a snort as he put the tray on the table. "No, I just don't want our food allergy guests get sick or give us a low rating on Yelp or TripAdvisor. Hi guys!"

"You shouldn't bother with all that kinds of stuff. You now have two vampires back under your roof. If they get sick, we'll feed them our blood and compel them," Myriam shrugged.

Bella grabbed a paper and rolled it up before hitting Myriam over the head with it. "Three weeks away from this place and you forgot the number one rule already?"

"No, of course not. As human as possible, but… who cares about this shit? They're probably lying about it anyway."

"And if they're not they could get seriously ill from my food. No compelling humans and no feeding them blood. No snacking on the guests."

"Rule two," Myriam said to Kol as she nodded. "Don't worry, Mystic Falls is off limits but there's a fridge full of blood bags downstairs."

"I regret coming here. I'm bored already!" Kol exclaimed as he bit down on a cookie.

"Oh, that's easily fixed. What are your talents?" Bella smiled kindly as she poured him a coffee.

"Murder, mayhem, torture… rule breaker…"

"Did you have a job during the last thousand years?"

"Darling, my siblings kept me boxed for the most part because I used to be so unpredictable and violent and annoying. And when I was out for a long time, I made sure I wasn't in their vicinity at all and hang out with witches," Kol sighed. "Niklaus is a painter. Elijah is a great pianist and politician. Rebekah trained to be a nurse. Me? Nothing. Even Myriam has more degrees and work experience than I do, I've got none!"

"You're an Alchemist," Myriam pointed out. "You may not be a witch anymore, but you know exactly what to do with herbs and other ingredients. You know the exact measurements. You know how to teach, because you love teaching witches the things you've learned on your travels."

Kol looked at her and blinked. "Huh. I never thought of it that way."

"So, what? You want him to teach witches here?" Bella looked at her friend. "I don't think this place is the best place for that, you know."

"No, you idiot," Myriam rolled her eyes. "There's magic school where Kol could occasionally pop in to help out, but they have enough witches there already to teach the children. No, I think that he'll be a great help for Isaac in the kitchen."

"What?" Isaac nearly choked on his coffee. "Him? In my kitchen? No way!" Okay, fine, he had suggested it only moments earlier, but he had been joking.

"Actually, I think it's a great idea," Bella smiled as she ran her hand through Isaac's hair. "You'd need to be able to measure the right amounts when doing alchemy and or witchcraft, Kol's a vampire, I'm sure he has excellent feeling in his hands when it comes to weight and measurements. He can do the work for like what? Five cooks at the same time?"

"Easy," Myriam huffed. "Just try it for a while, Isaac. Like Bella said, the place is packed and you still haven't found the right cooks to work with you. Train him." She then looked at Kol, a stern look on her face. "And you don't get any say in this, you do as what they want you to do, got it?"

"I'm not afraid of you, Myriam," Kol rolled his eyes.

"Or we could just box you, Klaus did give me a dagger…"

Kol's eyes widened out of sheer panic. "What! He wouldn't!"

Myriam let out a snort. The mention of the dagger was always something to freak out Kol with. But unknown to him, all daggers were either lost or safely put away. "You really think that my boyfriend would allow me, a regular vampire, a breakable vampire, to go somewhere alone, with you the happy homicidal maniac?"

"Fuck you, Myriam! You're not going to dagger me!"

"Hey, knock it off!" Bella shot at the two. "Kol is not going to get daggered or hurt, leave him alone, Myriam," she said as she rounded the table and ruffled Kol's hair, feeling him instantly relax under her touch. "Don't worry, if the kitchen doesn't work out for you, we'll find you something else to do. But to stay here, you need to do something, you understand that, right? And yeah, sure, Peter may call upon you, and Jeremy, to go on some rescue mission, but you need a proper job, too."

"Whatever you think is best, Bella," Kol smiled up to her. "As long as you keep Myriam and that blasted dagger away from me."

"If Myriam daggers you, she'll be in big trouble," Bella said as she leveled her gaze on Myriam. "We don't dagger people who are in need of aid. Anyway, when are you going to talk to the major about your plans with Freya and Rebekah?" Bella kept running her hand through Kol's hair and to massage his scalp, she could feel him relax more and more and that's what she wanted.

"Next week," Myriam replied. "I want to walk around the city a bit more to find the best place to make the area into a gated community that Freya can protect with spells. Each house will be individually spelled as well."

"Nice, I like it!" Bella approved.

Isaac got to his feet as he took another cookie from the plate. "Alright, we'd better go to the kitchen and start our meal prep, Kol. It's going to be dinner time soon and we have 50 mouths to feed. Guests and reservations together."

"Oh great, you're not even going to take it easy on me!"

"You have no idea," Isaac laughed, shaking his head as he lead the way towards the kitchen.


	27. Chapter 27

Bella was happy with how Kol's demeanor had changed over the course of only a month. Sure, he still had his bad days of not wanting to do anything, and Isaac usually gave him a few hours before scraping him away from the bar, because if there was one thing that Kol could do like no other was to drink and, on a very bad day, he drank all the liquor the bar held.

Isaac made things fun for Kol, and even took him on days out with Jeremy. Or the three of them would play video games together. In turn, Bella spent more time with Caroline and Myriam, and Rebekah once came over too, only for a swift visit because she had a run in with Matt and those two had a complicated history. Of course, that sparked Matt to come by for a sheriff's visit while Isaac and Kol had been out to get supplies.

It was a beautiful sunny day and Bella was sitting outside on the porch drinking a nice glass of cold lemonade when a cab stopped in front of the entrance and two people nearly jumped out of it and made a run for the entrance of the Bed and Breakfast. "Excuse me," Bella called out to them. "We're fully booked! Did you make a reservation?"

"Ah, no… we're looking for Bella Swan?" the very attractive dark haired man asked. His blue eyes were amazing and his face had this gorgeous bone structure. He could very well be a GQ model for all Bella knew.

Bella got to her feet and nodded as she took her glass of lemonade. "Follow me," she smiled as she lead the man and woman to her office. Peter had gotten into the habit of having his contacts referring people who needed help to Bella. Sometimes Isaac, just to make sure that they wouldn't get caught by the hunters.

Still, it was a risk that Bella reluctantly took, because these people could very well be hunters and always had their protectees walk through a barrier of protective spells of the witches to see if her new guests were genuine. If they weren't, one of the barriers would hold them.

She was once again relieved that she didn't have to fight or call for the resident vampires to help out. Bella showed them to a little seating area in her office and sat down in her chair as she observed them for a moment. "I'm Bella Swan and I can get you the help you need. Are you in need of medical assistance?"

"No, thank you," the woman spoke. She had brown hair cut in a very high bob and it kinda looked ridiculous. "It's strange to see this place, when this was still the Mystic Grill we often went there for something to eat."

"Oh, so you're from Mystic Falls then?"

"We used to be. We still have friends here but we moved away after my brother died and started a new life," the man explained. "My name is Damon Salvatore, this is my wife Elena."

Bella was surprised then. "Elena as in Jeremy's sister and Salvatore as in the school? Does Jeremy know you're in trouble?"

"He was the one who told us to come here, actually," Elena replied. "We've been running from hunters for a few weeks now. We've tried reasoning with them, especially since we're humans now but they won't listen. We just need a place to stay until they stop following us."

Bella had heard the tale of the vampire cure and on who was involved, she had never expected to ever meet these two as Jeremy had made it clear that they had no intention of returning. "Well, sorry to tell you but unless all hunters are dead, you won't be safe on your own. They will keep coming for you so yeah, Jeremy sending you here was a good call on his part."

"But why? We're no longer vampires and-" Elena said panicked. "I kinda loved our new life!"

Bella smiled then. "Well, it started in Beacon Hills but it spread out to the entire world when a bunch of seers and banshees catalogued every supernatural being in about 2013, 2014. And every city with supernatural beings in it thought it was just limited to them, but it wasn't. With the rise of the hunters taking revenge on the supernatural and didn't discriminate while doing so, all the pages were collected and now they have this huge repository of names to hunt down."

"That doesn't make sense. I took the cure in 2013 and was in a medically induced coma by some lunatic for years," Elena scowled. "How am I on that list?"

Damon gently caressed Elena's arm. "Because you were a vampire in 2013, babe," he smiled at her. "I don't like this knowledge any more than you do, but it makes sense. Their information is outdated. So, now what? Are you going to teach us how to shoot guns and whatnot?"

Bella let out a chuckle and shook her head. "Your case is pretty special, really, because we're helping other supernaturals but you're human. Will you be comfortable living with other supernaturals and build a community somewhere?"

"We went away from Mystic Falls to avoid all the supernatural. We still have our friends here, but…"

"It'll be in the next state," Bella smiled at them. "Or, I know that someone's working on creating a human sanctuary here in Mystic Falls. A gated community, protected with witches spells. The mayor has signed off on the project, supporting it. Especially since myself and Isaac will keep an eye on the proceedings. You won't be safe elsewhere as long as you're being hunted."

"This is not what I imagined…" Elena said as she looked at Damon with tears in her eyes. "They're making us move back!"

"I know of another group of people who helps the supernatural only, but that's in a town in California where I just know you won't be safe," Bella said kindly. "And I'm not making you do anything. You came to us for help, I'm merely giving you the options that I have for you. But you know what? You don't have to decide now. I'll show you to where you'll be staying and you two can talk things out. And if you'd like, I can send Jer or one of your friends over to help you decide?"

Bella decided to give the two a suite downstairs meant for families instead of having to sleep in the dormitory and showed them the shared kitchen downstairs too. She then left them alone and sighed as she sat back down on the porch with her lemonade before shooting Jeremy a message that his sister and her husband had arrived safely and that a head's up would be nice next time. Jeremy responded that she'd better warn Kol and tell him to stay away from the now fragile former vampires.

Sighing, Bella got to her feet again and made her way to the kitchen where Isaac and Kol were making some people in the restaurant. "Hey, Kol, got a moment?"

"Of course, darling," Kol smiled widely.

"Jeremy told me to inform you about two guests that have arrived for our protection," she said hesitantly. "Since their… transformation is something of recent years, their former supernatural status ended up on the list that the hunters are working with."

Kol blinked then and Bella could almost see the cogs working in his head. "I don't have a clue who you're talking about."

"Damon and Elena Salvatore."

"Excellent!" Kol grinned as he rubbed his hands together in glee. "With him now being human, it means he's food now!"

"No, they came to us for help, and we're going to do just that. Whatever you have against Damon, you need to put it to rest."

"Oh, like I did with young Gilbert? Who, by the way, killed me?"

"Yes," Bella said easily as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You're an ancient vampire, stop holding onto grudges. What did that guy do to you anyway?"

"I've encountered him and his brother numerous times over the last two centuries and they always can't leave well enough alone," Kol sneered. "Always sticking his nose in things that are none of his business, same with his brother. Look where it got them both. One dead, who left Caroline a widow and one a stupid human. Because of the cure." He then sighed as he tried to find another reason. "I don't know, darling, maybe because I'm petty?"

"Grudge. You don't know what he's been up to since he's became a human again. He's under our protection, so no beating him up or snacking on him."

"And what if he beats me?"

"You laugh and walk away. Then hit something in the garden or something, but not him."

"But… it's going to be _so easy_ now!"

Bella smiled then as she ruffled his hair. "Exactly, where's the challenge in that?"

Kol turned to Isaac and sighed. "You do know that your missus is a big party pooper, right?"

Isaac shrugged. "I'm with Bella on this. Whatever your history with Damon and Elena may be, they're now breakable and they're in need of help from the hunters. We wouldn't be any better if we'd allow you to kill him or something."

Kol narrowed his eyes on Isaac before doing the same on Bella. "Fine. I'll _try_ to be civil when I go downstairs for a blood bag."

Isaac had a thought then. "You know… another reason for not biting either of them… Their blood is the cure to vampirism, right? You'd turn into a human yourself!"

"Which might also be the reason why the hunters want them. To spread the cure around and make sure that the vampires die out," Bella nodded. Why hadn't she thought about this?

"You're right! We need to move the blood bags somewhere else! And they need to stay away from the food! And me!"

"Relax," Bella laughed. "Everything will be fine."

"Not if Damon finds out I'm here! He'll poison the blood, I swear to you! Human or not, he still hates me! I'm going to move the blood bags _now_." Kol then sped out of the kitchen and headed straight downstairs to get his and Myriam's bags and put them in one of the empty fridges in the kitchen.

"No. Absolutely not, get those bags out of my kitchen!" Isaac said angrily.

"No! At least they'll be safe here until those annoying gits get out of here!"

Isaac sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine, but you're going to put a lock on it. Go get the hardware and install that lock, and keep the fridge clean." This wasn't just anxiety or unprovoked paranoia, in this case, the two Salvatores could very well be the end of Kol's, and Myriam's, vampirism. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to keep those two inside the B&B. "We need to inform Myriam about those two and perhaps talk to Peter about this because I doubt it'd be a good thing for them to go to the farm."

"You know," Kol said as he was making the lock on the fridge. "We could simply kill them. It would take a lot of anxiety away from vampires who love their life. Don't get me wrong, I loved being a witch and would gladly be one again, but who's to say that this cure won't cure me from that, either? Killing them is easier."

"We don't kill people!" Bella exclaimed. "But I see your point. Those two needs to be kept far away from vampires… and hunters. Maybe we should send them to Derek because he doesn't have vampires around to worry about because even if Damon and Bella should settle here in Mystic Falls as part of Myriam's project with Rebekah and Freya… I don't see that end well."

Kol sighed. "Another solution that's… _humane_ , is to put them under a sleeping spell. Permanently. Put them in coffins, hide them for eternity. On the farm where no one can find them."

"Is that even possible?" Isaac asked surprised by the fact that Kol thought of something non-violent.

The vampire nodded then as he finished the lock and cleaned up the mess he made. "My sister Freya is strong enough to do such a spell," he then turned to see the surprised looks on the faces of his friends. "What? It's the best solution, isn't it? I'm not allowed to kill them, but they are a danger to my kind. But you should have remembered their condition, Bella Swan, and turned them away."

"If we'd turn people away who need our help based on their condition or difficulties, nobody would be getting saving and that's including yourself," she countered as she stole a piece of bell pepper from Isaac's chopping board. "We need to discuss this with Jeremy, Caroline and Alaric. Maybe even Myriam, too."

"Speaking of Myriam…" Kol smirked as he looked at Isaac. "Can I please be excused for perhaps five minutes? I want to show her our new guests in the basement."

"Oh, this is not going to end well, is it?" Isaac shook his head laughing. "Go."

Kol found Myriam in the laundry room and he knocked on the doorpost with a big smile on his face. "Do you have a minute, darling?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"Come," Kol looped his arm through hers and pulled her towards the downstairs stairs. "I moved our blood, by the way," he said as he held up a key. "It's in the kitchen."

"Idiot. It was fine here."

"No, it was not," Kol shook his head. "Too close to our new guests."

"What, they have aids or something? That won't hurt us nor does it automatically travel through air into our blood bags, you know."

"Oh no, darling, don't you worry about that…" he smiled with a big grin on his face before knocking on the door of one of the suites. Kol smirked when the door opened and revealed Damon. "Hello darling."

"Oh hell no!" Damon exclaimed, which caused Elena to join him at the door. "What the hell are _you_ doing here?"

" _Cochon!"_ Myriam blurted angrily at Kol. " _Êtes-vous stupides! Comment osez-vous m'amener près de ces deux-là! Ils transportent le remède!_ Vampire Aids!" She let go of Kol and hit him over the head before narrowing her eyes on Damon and Elena. "You stay away from me!" She then rushed upstairs to find Bella, who was with Isaac still in the kitchen. " _Incroyable! Vous avez deux vampires qui travaillent pour vous et vous décidez de prendre ces deux-là? Êtes-vous rendu fou?!"_

Bella blinked at her friend. Whatever language the vampire was speaking, it sounded like word vomit to her. "Myriam, English!"

" _Allez vous faire foutre! Je peux parler français comme bon me semble!"_

" _Calme toi, Myriam,"_ Isaac spoke calmly and in fluent French but a slight American accent. " _Nous essayons déjà de trouver des moyens pour les garder en sécurité et vous deux hors de danger. Imaginez seulement que les chasseurs leur mettent la main dessus ? Ils attaqueraient probablement toute la population de vampires."_

" _Très bien, mais d'ici là je vais rester chez Caroline."_

"What was that all about?" Bella asked him, as she was still trying to process her friend's behaviour.

"Uh, she thinks it's a very bad idea that Damon and Elena are in the same building as she is, and I told her that we're already talking about ways to make sure that she and Kol wouldn't get hurt," Isaac replied as he ran a hand through his hair. "She is very pissed, though."

"Alright, call Jeremy so we can talk to him about that solution Kol came up with, and then, if he agrees, we'll have to call Freya. I'd rather do this sooner than later because anxious vampires are shitty."

"Well, they have a right to be anxious, don't they? One drop of Damon or Elena's blood and they turn human."

"Yeah," Bella nodded as she let out a breath.

Isaac pulled Bella into his arms and hugged her tightly as he kissed the top of her head. "We'll never refuse anyone who needs our help, you did great. It just sucks that we now are housing the two people hunters would love to get their blood from and vampires want to stay clear off. Kol will remain anxious around them until we fix this."

"His solution is the best."

"Yes, and now all we need to do is convince Jeremy," he sighed as he didn't let go of Bella but used his free arm to call Jeremy. "Hey, could you come over?"

" _Has my sister arrived yet?"_

"Yes, and that's what we need to talk about first before you can go and see them. Come over. Now."

It was quiet for a moment before Isaac heard Jeremy sigh. " _On my way_."

Isaac put his phone away and kissed Bella's lips. "You'd better find Kol and hope he hasn't done anything stupid while I continue with this. Send him my way if you find him?"

"Yep," Bella nodded as she briefly returned Isaac's kiss before leaving the kitchen.

Kol came back to help him in the kitchen and used his speed to make up for lost time and for more time so that they could talk to Jeremy in peace without having to worry about the food prepping.

"So… Myriam's unhappy," Jeremy said as he sat down at the table with Bella, Isaac and Kol. "What about you, Kol?"

"I'm not allowed to kill them," he pouted.

"Jer, we understand that Damon and Elena need our help," Bella said carefully. "And that she's your sister. However, she and Damon are very dangerous to the vampire community so we can't really send them off to Peter and Jasper. We can't have them here and wait for Myriam's project to get off the ground in Mystic Falls, either, because of the obvious reasons."

"Damon and Kol never liked each other, always bickering and fighting," Jeremy said with a nod. "And I understand they won't be able to live peacefully here in Mystic Falls either, seeing as their blood may be valuable to the hunters and they could draw them back here."

"Or taint the food supply," Kol muttered.

"We could send them to Beacon Hills, but, then my brother likely has to deal with an increase of hunter activity and things could get messy and Damon and Elena could be taken or killed," Bella added. "She's your family, Jeremy, so we are thinking of ways to help her and Damon but… there's no other way than what Kol suggested."

"Oh, this oughta be good," Jeremy said as he looked at his friend. "Please, do tell."

"I'm not allowed to kill them, we can't put them anywhere safe while they're alive… but my sister Freya is a powerful witch and she could put Elena and Damon under a sleeping spell and we'd…"

"Put them in coffins and bring them somewhere safe?" Jeremy blinked. "Are you insane? That's what your family did to you!"

"No, I was daggered. I dessicated and was daggered so I couldn't move, but I was aware all the bloody time. Every bump in the road. Every drop of water dripping on my coffin. Every shake wiggled the dagger just a bit, causing me even more agony," Kol was clearly still hurt by the actions of his family. "No, what I'm proposing for your insufferable sister and her even more insufferable husband is to put them under completely. Humanely. Preferably without their knowledge because they'll refuse. And then put them in a box or whatever and bring them to the farm to be protected. That way, your sister is still here, and safe, but out of harm's way for herself, and for the vampires."

Jeremy was quiet for a moment as he tried to process the information before letting out a deep breath. "Okay. Elena and I haven't been close lately anyway, she doesn't like it that I'm still busying myself with the supernatural community, but like you said, she's my sister and I don't want her dead. So… yeah. Go ahead and do that. How many days will I be able to spend with her until Freya comes?"

"Freya and I will have to work on the spell together, to make sure she doesn't miss anything. Would be inconvenient if they'd age or decomposed while under, wouldn't it? A couple of days, maybe. But they need to stay away from everything food or drink related here in this building because otherwise I _will_ kill at least one of them."

"Are you sure about this, Jer?" Bella asked worried. "Because if not, we could always try to find-"

"Their blood can cure vampires. The hunters would want their hands on their blood and wipe out the entire population. As it so happens, some of my best friends are vampires. No, this plan is good, then at least I know she's safe," Jeremy then let out a snort. "It's not like she usually gave me a choice when it came to _my_ safety."

"Great, I'll shoot Freya a message while we walk back to the kitchen to cook our butts off," Kol grinned as he got to his feet and took his phone. "Isaac, are you coming?"


	28. Chapter 28

The next day, most of their paying guests left for home and it was once again a beautiful day to relax and let most of the comings and goings being handled by the staff that they had hired, even with Myriam not available, Bella had all the faith in housekeeping to clean the rooms. While Kol and Isaac were out to get supplies in Richmond - Isaac still not being allowed to drive their new van, which was no longer a food truck but a normal sized van, Bella allowed Jeremy to take Elena and Damon out on the back porch facing the back garden. In the sun, but out of sight.

Only for Bella to double check if neither of them left their blood somewhere when they were outside. Satisfied after her check, she fetched herself a cold drink and grabbed one of the books she'd been reading and sat down on the front porch, looking out over the square. The major was really doing a lot to polish up the square and the surrounding houses. A new supermarket had opened, the cinema was back on its feet and with the funding back for the local emergency services, more people were out and about, feeling safer than they had ever felt for a very long time.

"Hey, Bella, how's it going?"

"Sheriff," she greeted Matt as she looked up from her book. "You're looking fine today!"

He let out a chuckle and leaned against one of the pillars of the porch. "Thanks."

"Anything I can do for you? You still haven't had lunch here, we see a lot of your colleagues, but not you."

"Always busy, you know that. Even in a quiet town like this, there's always something to do," Matt shrugged, his blue eyes sparkling in curiosity. "Is Isaac around?"

"Ah, no, he and his sous-chef are getting supplies, why?"

"Okay, good," he said as he quickly sat down next to Bella with a serious look on his face. "Look, it took me a while to validate the information but I need to warn you about him. He's not who he says he is."

"I'm… pretty sure that he is, though, why are you thinking he's not?" She put down her book as she looked at him.

Matt then got a piece of paper out of his pocket, unfolded it and handed it to her. On it was part of the Argent family tree. There was Allison Argent, Chris Argent and Gerard Argent. Gerard was the demented one. Gerard had a sister called Marjorie and she had a daughter, Julie, and a son called Peter, who had a daughter, Vicky, and a son, Matt, with Kelly Donovan. "My grandmother married a Maxwell, and my mom gave me and Vicky her last name because my dad left when mom was pregnant with me. Back in the late 1700's, my ancestor Ethan Maxwell helped save this town from some supernatural shenanigans, and as you well know, the Argents are quite a big deal, too."

"Ah, a match made in heaven then," Bella said as she handed Matt the paper back. "So, what's this about Isaac not being who he says he is?"

"Isaac is not an Argent, Bella. Not unless Chris and Kate Argent had another brother. Or if Kate had a son, but she was the youngest so she could never have been a mother to Isaac."

Well this sucked. "Chris Argent adopted Isaac after his father was murdered, his mother died years before that, so yeah, he may not be on that family tree of yours, but for all intents and purposes, Isaac is an Argent. Maybe not by blood, but he's still one of them," she took a sip of her drink then and got her phone out. "Would you like me to call Chris to validate the story?"

"Bella…"

"Matt, I think it's nice that you're looking out for me, but you're seeing things. Isaac's one of those innocent little puppies that won't hurt a fly. He's a great cook and his behaviour isn't out of the ordinary," she smiled kindly at him as she saw the van pull up and drive around the back.

"The Argents don't adopt, Bella. Like ever. They live with a strict code and they value their blood family very much so. Chris Argent is deemed the black sheep of the family because he's changed his ways and veered off the path. It's bad news," he said slowly. "Besides, aren't the bad guys always the guys you least expect them to be?"

She thought for a moment, hopefully appearing to soak in every word Matt had said, but instead was trying to look for words to let him down gently. "Do you live by the rules the Argents have set way back in the old days or are you living your own life, like Chris is doing? Because technically, you're only… what? A quarter Argent?"

"That's not the point. I'm not in contact with anyone of that side of the family because my dad cut it off when he left us and them for a change of life. Chris Argent is bad news, so if Isaac has anything to do with him, you'd better make sure he gets out of town and away from you."

"You don't have anything to worry about," she smiled at him. "Hey, come, I need to show you something, you'll like it." Bella got to her feet and waited for Matt to do the same before walking over the porch towards the back. "Hey guys, look what I found!" She said cheerfully.

"Matt!" Elena squealed with delight and flung herself at him, hugging him tightly. With Matt now distracted, Bella quickly walked into the kitchen where Isaac was putting things away.

"We have a problem," Bella said as she looked at him. "The sheriff knows you're not a real Argent, and even when I said you were adopted, he kept on pushing that you were bad news."

"How the hell does he know?" Isaac said as he scratched his head.

"Grandfather Argent had a sister. Matt's a cousin, apparently. So yeah, he's familiar with the name and the family tree."

"Problem?" Kol piped up as he walked in with a crate of fresh vegetables.

"Matt."

"Oh, goodie! We'll kidnap him, make sure the vervain is out of his system and compel him. Or, you know, I could kill him."

"Kol!"

"The first one is a better option, fine, fine," Kol sighed, dismissing the other thought with a wave of his hand. "Where is he now?"

"Reuniting with Elena and Damon on the back porch," Bella replied before looking at Isaac. "But, before we do anything, can you call Chris and ask him about his aunt? I mean, Matt came with a decent story but we need to validate that story before we act upon our own paranoia."

"Of course," Isaac nodded as he took out his phone and dialled Argent's number. He hadn't spoken to him in quite some time, so he wondered if he'd even pick up the phone.

" _Hey Isaac! How's life?"_

"Very well, Chris, thank you, how are you?"

" _Things have been running a lot smoother with Derek in charge, so I'm a happy camper. What can I do for you?"_

"What can you tell me about your aunt?"

" _Aunt?"_

"Aunt Marjorie?" Bella piped up.

" _Oh, hey Bella! I'm sorry but I don't have an aunt Marjorie. Gerard was an only child, why are you asking?"_

"Someone knows I'm not a real Argent."

" _Then it's highly likely that that person is a hunter. Proceed with caution, Isaac. If the hunters have found you..."_

"He's a local, he's been in Mystic Falls all his life."

" _Again, if someone knows our family tree, it's likely that they are a hunter, and not of the good kind. Be careful."_

"Yep, got it, thanks," Isaac said as he ran after Kol because the vampire had bolted towards the porch. Bella followed shortly after.

"Oh, hell no!" Matt exclaimed loudly upon the sight of Kol, who had him now pinned against the wall. "Let go of me!"

"No, you slimy little git!" Kol said venomously.

"Kol, let him go, there's no harming the guests," Isaac kindly said, but with a little force behind his words so that Kol would stop hurting Matt, even though Isaac really wanted to punch the guy himself.

"Do you have any idea who this is?" Matt questioned Isaac and Bella once Kol had released him but stuck to his side anyway, his eyes locked onto him.

"Yeah, my sous-chef," Isaac said lightly.

"He's a vampire! An Original vampire at that!"

"He's my sous-chef," Isaac said again. "And he's under our protection," he added as he walked over to Matt himself and eyed him curiously. "Chris Argent doesn't have an Aunt Marjorie, Gerard Argent was an only child. Are you playing with us, sheriff?" He pushed against Matt so he was against the wall again, and he wasn't removing his hand from him.

"You can't compel me," Matt said as he looked at Kol.

"I figured, darling," Kol smiled widely. "But not to worry, I can be patient."

"Mattie?" Elena asked with a little voice. "What are they on about?"

"I'm a hunter, Elena. I joined the hunters so that I could kill supernatural beings like Kol and bring you and Damon into the fold, because with your blood… well, we can poison the food supply," Matt sighed. "I thought Bella and Isaac were too stupid to realize this, but I guess I underestimated them. Caroline and Ric don't know."

Isaac growled lowly at Matt. "I should kill you."

"No!" Elena squeaked. "He's my friend!"

"Who just openly admitted to wanting to kill some of your friends like Caroline, and want to use you for your blood!" Kol responded before realizing something. "Of course, that's nothing new to you, is it, Gilbert? People wanting your blood because you're _special_."

"The cure is not in me, it's in Damon," Elena huffed.

"You're a doctor! You should know better!"

"What the hell are you talking about, Kol?"

"Taking blood from you with a syringe doesn't mean the cure is out of your system, Elena! It's mixed with your own, and now it's also mixed with Damon's. Unless you're drained completely, you two are a danger to us all," Kol countered angrily. "Magic or not. It's a foreign substance inside of you and you can't get rid of it unless you're fully drained or your body rejects it. Basic biology."

"But Katherine…"

"She died because she was an old bat and her body probably didn't like the change much," Kol snapped before looking back at Matt. "Did you tell your hunter buddies about all of this?"

"I'm not saying anything," Matt barked out a laugh. "I guess you'll have to wait and see."

Bella scowled then as she quickly approached Matt and Isaac and plunged a syringe into Matt's neck, squeezing it until the fluid was all out and Matt passed out. "There. That should keep him asleep for a few hours. How long until vervain passes out of his system so you can interrogate him?" She asked Kol.

"Could be days. Who knows? Freya might show up before that and maybe she'll like to have some fun with his mind."

"Well then, we'd better keep him somewhere safe and strip him off his electronics so he can't contact anyone," Bella said as a matter of factly and looked at her boys with a smile on her face. "He can have one of the suites, but you'd better tie him up properly so he can't escape."

"You're so hot," Isaac said breathlessly and kissed her eagerly as Kol picked up Matt as if he weighed nothing.

"Down boy," Bella grinned before looking at Elena and Damon. "You two, back downstairs, you've been out for a very long time and when there's one hunter, there might be another. Don't want you to bleed all over my house," she said as she pointed at the door. "Go." She then turned to Jeremy. "You're not going to tell Caroline about this. Nor Alaric, got it? Not until we know more."

"Got it, boss," Jeremy smirked.

She then tossed him the keys to Matt's truck that she had lifted from him as she plunged the syringe into his neck. "Take his truck, find gps locators or anything that could be hacked or tell others where he is, drive around, maybe take the truck to Richmond or something before you destroy the trackers, come back and put the truck in the garage, please."

"On it, boss," Jeremy said as he ran around the B&B to find Matt's truck.

It was strange to tell people what to do, but she strangely liked it. Especially because they were agreeing with her. Bella then turned back to Isaac, who was still looking at her with so much admiration on his face. "What?" she let out a giggle. Oh, he was horny alright.

"You… me… upstairs?" He asked suggestively, wagging his eyebrows.

"Don't you need to start cooking soon?" Bella laughed as she put her arms around him and looked up to him. "Or, you know, to further unpack the van?"

"Quickie?"

She kissed him and ruffled his hair. "Tonight."

~o.O.o~

Matt had come to somewhere late during the night, but he wasn't talking and Bella wasn't going to push. And after making sure Matt really couldn't go anywhere, she went back to bed.

It was great seeing Freya again, and she was more than happy to have her way with Matt until the vervain would be out of his system. There were a few potions she could try, and a few spells if he still resisted. She didn't know Matt, but she knew that he must have been the most resilient human out there after what Mystic Falls had been through over the last two decades. It was surprising that he was still even human.

Freya told them about how Klaus had received a phone call a few days ago from his girlfriend, ranting and ranting in French and something about Vampire Aids, but Freya perceived Matt as a bigger threat right now than two humans with special blood, even if it upset her brother and sister-in-law. They'd just had to stay away from the two.

Bella suggested sending their guests home, but Freya cast a silencing spell around the room so that the paying guests wouldn't be disturbed from Matt's screams and that life could go on as well as possible. And it did, but Myriam was still not setting a foot at the Bed and Breakfast. Not until Elena and Damon were dealt with.

Late in the evening, Freya had forced all the vervain out of Matt's system and Kol rubbed his hands together in glee. "We kill hunters, don't we? Can I do that after we get information out of him?"

"What if he has the cure in his body?" Bella questioned. "No offense, but who's to say that Elena and Damon never shared it with Matt, to protect him?"

"Can I then compel him to take his own bloody life?"

Bella sighed. "First things first, okay? Then we might consult Peter and Jasper on how to proceed with him, especially since he's the town's sheriff and people know him… it's harder to get rid of someone with roots in the community."

Kol sighed dramatically and entered the room followed by Bella and Isaac. "Hi Matt," Kol smirked as he walked towards him. Matt was restrained with a bunch of ropes and his own handcuffs and they made it all very unpleasant for him to sit or breathe. Which was good. "You're going to answer all the questions these two have for you, and you're going to answer them truthfully. Have I made myself clear?"

"I hate you, man."

"Does it work?" Isaac asked carefully.

"Of course it works, you idiot," Matt spat.

Isaac then let out a chuckle as he looked at Kol. "Well you did say he had to answer every question we had," he said before looking back at Matt. "What exactly do you know about us?"

"You're werewolves and you opened a B&B here in Mystic Falls but I suspect you're also helping other supernaturals to hide from the hunters. Either that, or you kill them because some of your guests never come out of the building."

"We never told you we were werewolves, how do you know?"

"Followed you out when you went after those werewolves in the forest a while back," Matt shrugged. "You're working with vampires different than the Original kind. You're not an Argent. I'm not sure who you are, but you're not an Argent. I did find a Charlie Swan in Forks, Washington, who could confirm that Bella was indeed, his daughter, but there's no Bella Swan on the hunter list, so she must be a recent turn. Perhaps by you."

Isaac let out a snort. "Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps you're giving me far too much credit. Do you even know about our kind of werewolves?"

"Don't need to. All I need to know is that you're supernatural and you need to be purged from this Earth. Wherever you go, you're leaving a trail of bodies, human casualties. The fact that you're actively helping supernaturals to run from the hunters makes you a bigger danger than you already were."

"But Matt, Bella and I have been nothing but kind to the people living in Mystic Falls. Thanks to us, Mystic Falls will be rebuilt and more people will come to live here, eventually, in time. What have we, personally, ever done to you?"

"You? Nothing. My experience with Kol? He's hurt me every single time we've encountered each other. He crushed my hand, threw a bottle into my shoulder. And for what? Because I wasn't good enough for his sister. I've been possessed by a Traveler spirit. I've died several times. I've seen my friends turn into vampires, hybrids. I've seen so much death all because of the supernatural, even lost my own mother and sister to it. I was almost killed twice when my ex-girlfriends turned into vampires. My friends got hurt because of the supernatural. Mystic Falls had to be cleared of humans when the heretics came to town, they nearly destroyed this city. Same with the whole Cade thing. The freaking devil himself came here and we nearly lost this city," Matt spewed as tears fell down his eyes. "So yeah, the world is a much safer place without you supernaturals in it, even if it means killing my friends. Killing Caroline."

"You're really willing to go after a bunch of kids?" Bella said shocked. "Kill them?"

"Better to kill them now than when they're at full power, right?" Matt countered wryly. "So yeah, when Tamora Monroe came into Mystic Falls and told me her story and what she'd done, who she was working with and what the mission statement was, I was sold. It's nothing like I haven't done before, although this time I'm actually willing to kill people I know."

"So, why haven't you?" Isaac asked.

"Because my mission is to observe, investigate and report."

"And can this town expect another invasion of the hunters any time soon?"

"When they don't hear from me, yes."

"How long is their response time?"

"Depends on where they are. Could be days. Weeks," Matt shrugged. "And they'll keep coming, even if you kill them all. They'll all come to Mystic Falls."

Bella sighed as she looked at Kol. "I've changed my mind about him getting killed," she told him. "I want you to compel him. He needs to call in and tell them that nothing's wrong here. That he's stayed the night and investigated but he's not found anything remotely supernatural. This is just another business ran by ordinary humans in search for a better life for themselves. The families he didn't see leaving he checked up with, and they usually left at the crack of dawn or when he wasn't watching, he contacted them and they're all alive and well and loved the experience at this establishment. And while Argent may be a big name in the hunter community, Isaac's name change doesn't have anything to do with the Argents that are around. While Isaac was in France, he decided to get rid of his own name and use a French last name instead; Argent. For Argento, meaning Silver, which is of significance to his family. But, knowing that that name painted a target on his back, he may change it to something else."

"Anything else, darling?" Kol smiled at her.

"Matt, do they really want to kill all the children at the school that your friends Caroline and Alaric are running?" Bella questioned him.

"Yes."

"Then that school no longer exists, they've moved elsewhere."

"Yeah, I can totally put a cloaking spell over them," Freya nodded. "You know like in the Harry Potter movies they have whole houses hidden in a row of houses? I can do that for the school."

"The school is almost connected to this place," Isaac said. "If I'd ask Peter, they'd dig towards the school and then the children can be dropped off here and move through the tunnels. Parents night? Exactly the same. Or maybe some other location that won't draw attention to us."

"I think we can work with that, I mean… yeah," Freya nodded. "But the school is important, we need to hide it. We'll deal with the rest around it later. Compel him and send him on his way."

"Oh, yeah, his truck! Jeremy's not back with it yet."

"Well fix that then," Kol grinned as he made sure Matt looked at him. "Now, Mattie boy, you won't remember any of this, but you will do as I tell you," Kol said as he started to compel the sheriff.


	29. Chapter 29

After Matt was thoroughly dealt with, Freya put Elena and Damon under with a sleeping spell only she could break and Peter and Jasper came to collect the two former vampires to make sure they were kept out of harm's way. Myriam returned a day later after Bella and Isaac had promised that they had gone over every inch of the basement and made sure that no blood had been left behind.

Kol, deciding that he had handled himself well during this cure scare, treated himself to a wild night out. That wild night turned into a day. Two nights, two days, three days… before Myriam eventually found them in his room at the Owl. "You could have told us you were here!" Myriam cried out as she looked at Kol's female companion. "Is that Jeri?!"

"Sorry, darling, I asked Jeri to cast a teeny spell around my room," Kol smirked at Myriam as he was stood in front of her, totally naked.

"You had us worried!"

"Where else would I go but here?" Kol blinked at her. "Jeri stays at the school, our passionate and casual sex would be completely wrong for that kind of setting."

Myriam rolled her eyes at him. " _Incroyable._ Get dressed. You two are having breakfast with us, because it's been days and I bet you didn't feed your pet witch."

"I am not his pet witch, Myriam!" Jeri exclaimed as she finished getting dressed. "We were having fun, two consenting adults."

"Bah! He's barely classified to be an adult! Troublesome gnat!"

Jeri looked at Kol for a moment, really appreciating the view. "You should get dressed. Not that I oppose to your nudity."

"Yes before I call your brother here. I promised him I'd help the wolves keep you out of trouble."

"Jeri's not trouble!" Kol whined as he turned around and found himself some clothes to wear. "We both had an itch to scratch, so what?"

"Jeri's a teacher at the school for the gifted and she's a witch. Not that gifted, so I don't know what she's doing there to begin with. She could get you in a whole lot of trouble."

"Ah, I knew you never liked me, Myriam," Jeri laughed, shaking her head as she collected her purse. "You know what? I think I'll pass on the breakfast and head home."

Myriam grabbed Jeri by the arm as she passed her. "Oh no, sweetheart, you're going to have the breakfast of shame," she grinned. "I'm pretty sure that the wolves will just love you."

Kol growled. "They can't stop me from having my fun, you know. Just because they're in a relationship doesn't mean that I have to be one to have meaningless sex."

The vampire turned and glared at him. "You and I will have a discussion about this, this tryst, believe me. I strongly suggest you choose your words carefully from this point on if you truly do not wish for me to follow through on your brother's threat as I had no intentions. This? This crosses a line you will learn."

"Hey, stop it. My body, my choice," Jeri said as she wrestled herself loose from Myriam's hold before looping her arm through Kol's. "Let's have breakfast then."

Bella hit Kol over the head with a newspaper. "Where. The. hell. Have. you. Been?!"

"Upstairs," Kol grinned as he ducked away. "Silencing spell around the room while Jeri and I had a lot of fun the last few days."

"You could have said something!" Bella shot at him and hit him again with the paper, this time on his back. "You had us all worried. No note. No phone call. Nothing! We've looked all over for you and we were about to ask Freya for yet another favor of tracking you!"

"Relax, darling," he smiled at her as he sat down at the table. "There's no need to worry about me."

Bella watched as Myriam sat down between Kol and Jeri and felt some agitation coming off of her friend. Which was strange, because Bella had only experienced that with Isaac, who was merely feeling slightly confused at the moment. "I understand you want to have some fun, Kol, but you should have told us where you were," she then looked at Jeri. "A silencing spell on the room? In this building? You're not allowed to do magic in here, you know that. This place is protected by some powerful spells and you could have upset the balance."

"I know what I'm doing," Jeri countered angrily. "Sure, Freya is far more powerful than I am, but her magic is all over the place, spread too thinly. I specialize in defensive spells. Don't worry, your protection is still in place."

"It doesn't matter, there are rules."

"You need to loosen up."

Myriam slammed her hand on the table. "And you need to get it through your skull that this place is a safe haven for those being attacked by hunters, and for the paying guests. If you're messing with the magic of this place, you're messing with their safety!"

Kol let out a deep breath. "Note to self; dingy motel next time."

"No," Bella smiled at him. "It's nice that you've met someone you can have casual sex with and that you feel free enough to take her here. But no more magic. Promise me that. And please, tell me where you go. I don't want to control you or belittle you, I want to know that you're safe."

"Darling, I'm an Original vampire."

"And? Your point?" Bella retorted, cocking her head as a playful smile appeared on her face. "Doesn't mean you can't get into trouble. And here I thought you were doing so well…"

Kol could hear the disappointment in Bella's voice and hung his head in shame. "My apologies, Bella."

"Apology accepted. Don't do it again," she said before looking at Myriam. "And what has your knickers all in a twist?"

She pointed at Jeri and Kol. "These two shouldn't be together."

"What!" Jeri exclaimed. "I know you don't like me but you're not going to make decisions for me, Myriam. I will not allow it!"

"She kinda has a point," Isaac nodded as he took a bite from his breakfast burrito. "Jeri's 25 years old, she lives in a free world and she's free to see who she wants to see. Who are you to say no? Besides, didn't they say it was mutual and consensual? As long as they're happy with their agreement, so should we. But Kol, just because you have the hots for your brother's girlfriend doesn't mean that you should date someone who's looking like her."

Myriam scowled then as she dismissed Isaac's remark about Jeri looking like her. "I don't think Jeri is worth it to even be in the same proximity as a Mikaelson," she muttered.

"That's not your decision to make!" Kol shot at her, causing Myriam to drive a fork through Kol's hand. "Ouch?" He had seen the similarities but he didn't care about them. He had just wanted a free, uncomplicated fuck for a few days and then he'd move on from her. His new family, the _pack_ he was now a member of, were making things far more complicated than it had to be. He pried Myriam's fingers off of the fork and pulled it out of his hand.

Bella sighed as she got to her feet, rounded the table and took Myriam's hand before pulling her away from the breakfast table and straight into her office. After having closed the door, she looked at her friend. "What's going on? I know you don't like Jeri, but you never told me why. And now this?"

Myriam was jittery as she gnawed on the inside of her cheek as she debated if she should answer. A glare over her shoulder at her friend as she moved to stare out the window had her shaking her head. "It's not so much that I don't like her. I tolerate her. However I have to make sure she's protected too."

"And why is that?"

Myriam sucked in a breath. "Alright, fine. But you're not going to tell anyone."

"I promise."

"My mother was a French prostitute, working in Barcelona in the late 1600's, and around 1680 she fell pregnant with me, after one of her Johns took quite an interest in her and used her for pleasure multiple times. Once he realized my mother was pregnant, he tossed off again to Italy, making my mother raise me by herself," she said carefully, still staring out the window. "She died when I was 15 and I spent the next three years travelling on my own until I met the Mikaelsons in Cádiz. I travelled a thousand kilometres on foot, sometimes on horseback and making ends meet. I went to Cádiz, because I thought it be possible for someone with a ship to take me to the New World, to exciting and exotic places."

"You've known the Mikaelsons for that long?"

Myriam slowly nodded. "For years I didn't care about being alone, it was a way of life, but upon seeing the Mikaelsons so happy together, and having fun, it made me realize that I missed that part of my life. Kol offered his help to track down my family, even if that meant we had to travel a long time," she hesitated then. "Yes, we did have sex with each other, but that's because we were traveling and always together. Things were bound to happen."

Bella was flabbergasted. "Wow, I did not know that… and you two don't act like exes, either."

"Because we aren't. I basically repaid him with sex for all that he was doing for me," Myriam shrugged. "He kept me safe and made me feel safe, something I hadn't felt in a very long time. Love is… hard for Kol, because of his family's history and abuse, and that's why I'm glad that you and Isaac are helping him now," she added before sighing. "And then the dreaded day came; Kol had found my family. The man who donated his sperm over and over again to my mother. He was married, had a lovely family and very wealthy."

"Typical."

Myriam nodded, a small smile on her lips. "The man clearly knew who I was, but he pretended not to. Accused me of lying and being a criminal; wanting to rob him for all that he had while all I wanted was a family. Kol managed to sneak out some trinkets for me that were quite expensive looking and that was that. We went back to Cádiz," she sucked in a breath then. "Years later, after I turned, I decided to go and see what had happened of that family, and saw that they were very prosperous despite having lost most of their wealth. Their legacy will continue forever, I suppose that's most important. I had my minions look after the family when I couldn't. Jeri is the last one of that family line."

Bella's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. "She's your family? It makes so much sense why she looks so much like you! And then that attitude!"

The vampire's brows furrowed. "Family is such an intimate word, don't you think?"

"Well, I believe that family is what you make it to be, it doesn't have to mean just blood."

"The Mikaelsons are my family. Same as you, now. I suppose even the wretched dog that got Klaus's head in a vice that spawned their child, but I adore Hope. She's everything I couldn't give him."

"So you don't want Kol and Jeri in a relationship to protect her?"

Myriam turned to face her. "I know Kol in a way his siblings will never know him and I know they will only find pain in one another. I object only because I mean to protect him like he has done for me. He does not see it now and I don't want him to know the truth."

"You're afraid that this _casual_ thing might end up in a full blown relationship? Or that he might do something stupid causing Jeri to lash out?"

She grew agitated again as she thought of telling her just what family they were blood of. "Bella, I've watched Jeri as she grew up. She is as much as every other one of the rest of that bloodline and she will get what she wants and turn her back on him. That is the last thing he needs."

"Okay," Bella nodded. "We'll talk to Caroline to fire her for breaking our rules and then you can do whatever you want with Jeri, how's that?"

"With the hunters, the school is the only place for her unless we convince her to go to New Orleans. Klaus knows and won't say a thing."

She thought again and smiled then. "What if we invite my brother back and have him and Jeri strike up a friendship and have him take her to Beacon Hills?"

Myriam scowled. "I like your brother too much to subjugate him to my cousin."

"So on the one hand, you want to get rid of her. On the other, you want her protected and you want her away from your family. From Kol. So… sending her to New Orleans won't be an option either, will it?"

"Until your little adoption, everything was just dandy," she snapped, immediately feeling guilty. "I'm sorry."

Bella walked over to her friend and smiled at her. "I'm sorry, but you agreed that Kol needed our help, too. You brought him here because he didn't want to come on his own and look how much he has grown since! And I'm not mad at you. Maybe this was a one time deal and it won't happen again. I mean, this is the first time he's had some sort of connection to anyone since his girlfriend died."

Sighing, Myriam wished she could share in her optimism. "Davina was no better. She used him too until she became regent and it was ripped from her."

Bella then had a very naughty thought. "Maybe Isaac is into threesomes."

"No. I guess call your brother. I'll see if Hope might be able to spell an amulet so she can't try any tricks on him," she conceded with a roll of her eyes.

"Or we could give her the Elena and Damon treatment."

"We could. But we'd have an Original throwing a fit. He likes his witches. She might be able to do some good for your brother if we can keep him from falling for her tricks."

"Well, they say this was meaningless sex, I suppose we won't know if it was until we split them up," Bella still wasn't sure what Myriam's deal was with Jeri or what was so important about her, but she trusted Myriam's opinion. And on top of that, Myriam was very easy going and never made any requests. She worked hard to be of help to Bella and Isaac, without any problems or reluctance. But this was something entirely different.

Bella fumbled her phone out of her pocket and dialled her brother's number.

" _Hey!"_

"Hey yourself," Bella greeted him. "How are things going?"

" _Great! What can I do for you?"_

"Ah, you're not alone, are you?" she laughed. "Well, I may have found you a new project. We can't keep her around and can't send her to New Orleans. Family history and all that. But she's hot, and she may benefit from your influence?"

Derek was quiet for a moment then and Bella could hear Stiles and Lydia bicker in the background. " _Yeah, sure. Does that come with a manual?"_

"That can be drafted, yes," Myriam grinned. "I'll start on one right away!"

" _I'm on my way."_

"Love you," Bella smiled as she disconnected the call and watched as Myriam took a seat behind Bella's desk and started to type furiously. "What are you doing?"

"Typing a manual," Myriam grinned. "He's going to be dealing with a witch. Like she said, she's good with defensive spells but she's a manipulative bitch, too. The Medici's didn't come as far as they did without their manipulation skills and she's inherited those."

Bella blinked as the information hit her. "You're an illegitimate child of a Medici?!"

"You can say bastard child, you know. Works for females too," she winked at her. "Yeah, I am, and I've watched her grow up, she's just like them. She takes what she wants and leaves. I can't just kill her, either. I mean… I've grown into the habit of allowing the descendants to spawn one child first, and then kill them when the child reaches 15 years of age. I might just raise the next one myself."

"Does she know? About you being family?"

"No, and I intend to keep it that way, got it?"

"Got it," Bella nodded. "Good luck writing that manual, I'm going to release Jeri from the breakfast of shame." She walked back to the dining room with a big smile on her face. "Alright, Jeri, I believe you have some classes to teach. Caroline called me yesterday to see if you were here. So you are now released from this table," she said as she put her hands on Kol's shoulders as she could feel him wanting to get up. "Oh no, you have some chores to do, mister."

"What are you doing?" Isaac asked her, curiously.

"He disappeared for days, hiding under our roof under a silencing spell, having wild monkey sex with a witch, you bet your ass he's going to do chores for the next two weeks!"

"What!" Kol exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, buddy, you're grounded," Bella grinned as she ruffled his hair. "Your first chore is to clean the porch from all the sand and clean the windows. All the windows."

"And what if I refuse?"

"Either Myriam calls Klaus, or we're sending you back to New Orleans to continue drowning in your sorrows." Kol scowled as he got to his feet, but Bella still kept a hold on him. "And no vampire speed."

"You're mean."

"You started this," she reminded him with a smile on her face.


	30. Chapter 30

A YEAR LATER

It had taken Derek a couple of months to get Jeri under control, but eventually he managed to work with her shortcomings and she was actually doing a lot of good now with Derek and his pack. He had accepted everyone from Scott's pack into his own and even according to Argent, Derek was doing great with them, and their mission.

Unfortunately, Peter Hale had died after he sacrificed himself for Derek and Malia, Peter's daughter and the group of people he was saving. Bella thought that was surprisingly courageous of him, in the end, Peter Hale did have a heart. Luckily for Derek, he no longer had to worry about his deranged uncle and his relationship with Bella.

Bella received every credentials of her management courses so now she was legally allowed to run a Bed and Breakfast by herself, just in case the human authorities would come for a check. She wanted to have everything above board and not have the vampires compel everyone who said a bad word about their establishment.

The Mystic Night Owl was doing great. The only quiet days were during the winter, but they were always completely booked otherwise. Peter suggested buying the motel, knock it down and build a dependance of the Owl there, even though it would require more staff that Bella and Isaac had to vet and train. It was something Bella and Isaac still had to discuss, but both not really wanting to expand their success, as more and more supernaturals came to them for their aid.

The school was properly cloaked and hidden from humans. If there would be a supernatural child with human parents, the parents could access the school through the tunnels, one having been extended out of Mystic Falls in a different direction for safety. Myriam spent more time at the school again and even Isaac went over more often to play with the kids and teach them Lacrosse - mainly because Jeremy _really_ sucked at it.

Bella was so happy that Isaac had finally become the confident and happy cook she had imagined him to be. The food was extraordinary now. It had been good, perfect before, but it was now rustic, authentic and extraordinary. Even their regular diners agreed with that fact. Bella couldn't take the credit for that. It had been Kol's presence in the kitchen, mostly, and Isaac's friendship with Kol and Jeremy that had helped him alot.

Isaac was happy. Bella was happy. And even Kol was doing so much better. He enjoyed the single life very much, liking the fact that he didn't have to share his time and space with someone and could do whatever he wanted to - within reason, because sometimes he did step out of bounds and he got scolded at by Bella, whom he sometimes called 'mum' just to tease her.

Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Charlotte and Peter were still running the farm in Mason Neck. They had bought more land to expand their territory and Emmett and Rosalie were ready for their own little project in the middle of the country. Between Derek in California and Bella in Virginia, Oklahoma was a great place to have another pocket of safety for those who were hunted by the hunters. Freya had been so kind to gift all five Cold Ones a permanent glamour for Christmas, one that made sure they'd never sparkle again, and they had been very thankful to her. In return, the Cold Ones gifted the Mikaelsons some of their special booze, and even sent some bottles to Derek in California.

Matt had basically ghosted the hunters, telling them that he was tired of being hurt all the time or being used as a pawn - thanks to Myriam's influence - but that he would keep an eye out if anything supernatural was going to come his way to Mystic Falls. He still wanted the town to be free of as much of the supernatural as possible. To him; Bella and Isaac were still human and their business was just that and nothing more. Kol was invisible to him because Kol didn't like it that Matt came over more often and he had to compel Matt to a) forget that he was yet again kidnapped to make sure he wasn't on vervain and b) never saw Kol in a room.

Myriam's project with Freya and Rebekah had been a big hit with the mayor of Mystic Falls, and she gladly parted with a part of the city so that a gated community could be built for the survivors of supernatural abuse. Even the sheriff was impressed and gladly helped out with the project. It had taken some months to make the plan work and get all the details right, but the community was now a work in process and the estimated completion date would be a few months from now.

But first, Bella and Isaac were in need of a well deserved vacation. Emmett and Rosalie were going to look after the inn while Alaric took over the cooking for a week and they went home with Myriam to New Orleans. Kol decided to go to the French Riviera, not fancying spending time in New Orleans.

For the first few days, they slept in the hotel that Rebekah and Myriam had put them in the first time they were in New Orleans, this time using all of the things the hotel had; room service. Room massages. The pool. The jacuzzi. And mostly the bed. The Mikaelsons always spoiled them whenever they came to town.

The rest of the days Bella and Isaac stayed at the compound, enjoying the company of the rest of the Mikaelsons and they usually spent their days sitting outside a restaurant and people watching. Maybe they could find Kol a girlfriend? By the time they had to go home, they hadn't settled for anyone but had spoken to a few candidates, but none were worthy of Kol. Not even one of the local witches. Selene had started out to be promising, but she was a big fan of Marcel and Vincent and they both hated Kol, so she did too. Myriam took a bite out of her.

The week in New Orleans had been too short, but it was nice to relax and not to think about their lives for a while because they had left their businesses in good hands. Isaac did, however, found a New Orleanian cook or two that he liked and Myriam compelled that guy to quit his job and move to Mystic Falls to apply for a job at the Mystic Night Owl. And Bella couldn't be happier; it meant that she would get to spend more time with her boyfriend during the day!

Bella and Isaac were watching Netflix on the couch with a nice glass of Peter and Jasper's moonshine when Bella's phone rang. She snatched it from the table and put it on speaker. "Hello brother," she smiled.

" _Hey."_

"Need more of the booze?"

" _You keep that shit away from me!"_ Derek blurted, causing both Bella and Isaac to sit up and look at the phone with a dumbfounded look on their faces. " _It's more trouble than it's worth!"_

"What's wrong?"

" _Look, I can work with that bitch of a witch you sent to me to take care of. I can work with her shortcomings and she's actually done a lot of good, but…"_ Derek sighed, frustration evident in that one sigh. " _In combination with the alcohol… that great tasting crap, it's disastrous."_

"Derek, get to the point, you're scaring us here."

" _I got the bitch pregnant!"_ He exclaimed dramatically. " _I don't even like her! But what does a drunk wolf do?"_

"I'm going to be an aunt!" Bella exclaimed happily. "That is so great!"

" _Bella!"_

"Well, okay, it sucks that it has to be with _her_ , especially knowing what I know, but Derek, you're going to be a dad! And you're going to be amazing! Who cares if you don't love that bitch? You're the only one left of us who can continue the Hale line. You're going to be amazing, I just know it."

" _You're being too blasé about this. I don't like it."_

"Wait, what? Why can't you continue the Hale line, Bella?" Isaac said confused. "You're a Hale yourself!"

"Yes, but babies get their daddy's last name," she winked at Isaac.

"Not in the modern day they don't."

"Well then it's going to be Swan, because that's what it says on my passport!"

" _Guys!"_

"We haven't forgotten you Derek, but congratulations! I need to make a phone call. If you need anything, just call!" Bella quickly disconnected her phone, all excited, before calling Myriam. "Myr!"

" _Yes?"_

"I have some great news for you! I mean… GREAT news."

" _Oh, what is it?"_

"My brother got drunk and guess what the bitch did? She seduced him and got pregnant!"

" _That means I can get to kill her once she poops out the little baby Hale!"_ Myriam squealed in excitement. " _This is great news!"_ Myriam was then quiet for a moment and sighed deeply. " _Aw man, I wanted to keep that line completely human so I could use them as my toys… now the baby has a 50% chance to be a fucking puppy!"_

Isaac just blinked at what Myriam had just said. Was she going to kill Jeri? Why?

"Two puppies here who are taking offense to that!"

" _Sorry! But you know what I mean, right?"_

"Yeah…" Bella sighed as Isaac now looked at her weirdly. "Hey, Isaac is giving me weird looks and he might scold me for being so enthusiastic about killing someone… can I fill him later?"

Myriam was quiet for a moment and Bella could hear the vampire hitting her own forehead. " _Only the bare minimum to get the job done."_

"Gotcha."

Myriam then squealed in joy again. " _This was indeed great news, thank you so much, Bella!"_

"You're very welcome, enjoy the rest of your evening!" Bella hung up and snuggled back into Isaac's arms before she filled Isaac in on the relationship between Jeri and Myriam. How Myriam thought it would be fun to keep the 'proper' line going from the man who impregnated Myriam's mother and kill the parent when the child turned 15, as Myriam lost her mother at that age.

"That's fucked up," Isaac replied. "So Kol wasn't allowed to continue his casual sex with Jeri because of Myriam?"

"No, because Jeri is a manipulative bitch and she didn't want Kol to get hurt."

"It's still fucked up."

Bella shrugged as she relaxed into his arms. "It's our life now. We have vampire friends and vampires are a bit… strange. And Jeri won't fall under our rules to protect, either. She's a witch. Supernatural on supernatural violence is not our thing. Besides, it'll make our Myriam really happy."

He kissed the top of her head. "Are you happy?"

"Very," she smiled at him. "I'm so very happy. With you. With our lives and even our friends."

"Good, because everyone deserves a happy ending."

"I think we found ours."

"Yeah, so do I," he smiled goofily at her. "I love you, Bella Hale."

"I love you too, Isaac Lahey."


End file.
